Shaquille O’Neal is setting the record straight. The NBA legend has officially denied sending a series of explicit direct messages to pop star Sabrina Carpenter after screenshots of a purported conversation went viral across social media.
The alleged exchange, which surfaced earlier this week, showed graphic messages from an account appearing to belong to O’Neal. The texts included bizarre lines about keeping Carpenter’s “farts in a cologne bottle” and references to “snow bunny kitty.” But the 54-year-old four-time NBA champion wants everyone to know those Shaquille O’Neal Sabrina Carpenter DMs are nothing more than a hoax.
On a recent episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq, O’Neal addressed the controversy head-on. He read the alleged messages aloud to his guest, rapper Jim Jones, before dismissing them entirely.
“First of all, ladies, the Diesel got way more game than that,” O’Neal said, laughing. He made it clear that the tone and content of the messages did not reflect how he actually communicates.
O’Neal attributed the viral rumor to “youngsters” focused on chasing internet clout. His podcast guest, Jim Jones, pointed to the role of artificial intelligence and digital editing in creating convincing but false content online. Jones noted that while social media can be a powerful tool for business, it has also become a “dangerous place” where misinformation spreads rapidly.
The fake DMs included a response from Carpenter allegedly saying, “You’re way too famous to be sending messages like that,” followed by more explicit texts from O’Neal’s supposed account. Neither Carpenter nor O’Neal has addressed the situation further beyond his podcast denial.
This isn’t the first time O’Neal has been forced to deny internet speculation. In October 2025, he shut down rumors that he was dating a 21-year-old OnlyFans model after they were spotted together in Las Vegas. O’Neal, who was married to Shaunie Henderson from 2002 to 2011 and shares five children, remains focused on his broadcasting career and podcast.
For now, the basketball icon is moving on. As he put it, anyone who knows him should know he has better game than what appeared in those screenshots. The fake DMs may have trended for a weekend, but O’Neal is making sure the truth has the last word.
