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Snubbing Tupac Tribute for $26 Million Box Office Failure, Shaquille O’Neal Endorses 19YO Acting Stint

Published 10/09/2023, 10:14 AM EDT

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What’s it like, being friends with Shaquille O’Neal? It means getting roasted to the stratosphere. One person knows that better than anyone. And he made a living in a career Shaq would be considered an amateur in. We’re not talking about Charles Barkley who, by the way, needs to brace himself when Inside the NBA is back on air on TNT this month. There’s someone who relates to Chuck and the miseries of being Big Diesel’s BFF.

Shaq savagely dragged his best friend’s career on social media with his own feature failure. His bestie must be used to it because he turned the tables with grace.

Shaquille O’Neal betrays best friend

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Whatever happened to supporting your best friend through thick and thin? Shaquille O’Neal completely threw out the BFF code by going after his friend, Anthony “Chicago” Hall on social media unprompted. And this is a man who shared the screen with the iconic Tupac Shakur.

via Getty

It started with Hall sharing a reminder of his acting chops with his scene from the 1997 cult classic, ‘Gang-Related.‘ He had a scene with Tupac and Jim Belushi in which he said, “OUT OF ALL THE FILMS AND TV SHOWS I’VE DONE OVER THE YEARS. THIS WAS MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE SCENE TO SHOOT.” He also added an RIP message to the late hip-hop icon.

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While most were applauding him or getting jealous he got to be that close to Tupac, someone else was burning with envy in the comments. Shaq was there with the classic, “boooooooo.” As if that didn’t sum it up, he commented again, “Blue Chips was better.”

Chicago Hall is no small-time fry. He was scouted when he was playing basketball at the Hollywood YMCA where he would meet stars like Denzel Washington and Wesley Snipes. He would star in major commercials for brands like Nike and Reebok and even worked with Michael Bay in the Dr. Pepper campaign. He had roles in hit TV shows like ‘Baywatch’ and appeared in ‘Gang-Related.’

Then he’d appear in the 1994 sports drama, Blue Chips. Apart from Nick Nolte, it starred a couple of NBA newbies named Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway. Though it touched on a serious topic like college athletics, the movie flopped, earning $26 million against the $35 million budget- making it a box office bomb.

WATCH THIS STORY | “Didn’t Say You Can Talk”: After Threatening His “Girlfriend’s” Replacement, Shaquille O’Neal Publicly Troubles One Fan for 1 Annoying Reason

But box office success doesn’t stop friendship. When Hall would step back from acting to write scripts, he’d produce Shaquille O’Neal’s All-Star Comedy Jam in 2013. Shaq would also be a sounding board for all of Hall’s scripts.

Like any good friend, Shaq is keeping Tupac’s co-star humble by reminding him where he started from. This won’t be the only time Shaq does this favor to his friend. Regardless, Hall only has praise for his once co-star.

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Shaq’s friend sticks with him

The 7’1″ giant never misses a chance to rib his friend. Hall had to endure a rude ‘shock’ because of Shaq not long ago. Hall has to get through family dinners with his youngest “niece” Me’Arah making him look puny.

Yet when his followers were surprised Shaq commented under his post, Hall was proud to gloat that he knows the four-time champion. “We’re best friends and sometimes he pops up to give me a hard time… whoa pause!

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That is the dictionary definition of best friends. What do you think about Shaq as a BFF?

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Written by:

Caroline John

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Caroline John is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. She has been covering athletes outside the sports arena since the start of her reporting career. A writer at heart, she graduated with a degree in journalism from a reputed university.
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Edited by:

Caroline Joseph