“I was so beat up by the negative and it did something to me,” said Lucille O’Neal once. She struggled through poverty and addiction but found her way out. Lucille O’Neal, who once used Shaquille O’Neal‘s money to “buy the best liquor,” is the reason behind ‘Big Diesel’ being so charitable. And at Shaq’s biggest charity night on his calendar, he made his mom the star of the show with his generosity.

The Event is Shaq’s annual fundraising concert for his foundation. He brings in the biggest stars together to make the donations worth every penny. And he made sure his mom had the best seat in the house.

Shaquille O’Neal treats his mom to expensive front-row seats

On October 7, the MGM Grand in Las Vegas hosted ‘The Event’, the charity concert benefiting the Shaquille O’Neal Foundation. In its third year, the curator behind it, the Los Angeles Lakers legend himself, made it even better with Grammy glam. But the star of the show was not Jennifer Hudson or John Legend. It was Lucille O’Neal.

Music, comedy, entertainment, and a live auction were the highlights of The Event. Shaq made sure his mom enjoyed it properly by buying her an exclusive table on stage. Lucille got the royal seat to watch Hudson, Legend, Anderson .Paak, and Dan + Shay perform live. Shaq wasn’t exploiting organizer privileges, though. He paid $20,000 for his mom’s single table, which goes entirely to charity.

With the jaw-dropping splurge, he happily invited his mom to her special seat. “Come up here momma,” he said as per People when he escorted her to her seat. Apart from enjoying the EGOT icons up close, Mama Diesel also danced with Anderson .Paak. He would make that night even better by bidding $50,000 and winning her a lavish vacation to Bora Bora.

The Event benefits the 4x NBA champion’s eponymous foundation, which is a huge supporter of youth programs across the country. The Boys and Girls Club is the biggest benefactor. Recently, Shaq and Lucille inspected the status of their contribution at a local chapter of the organization in Texas.

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Together, they’re a philanthropic force, with Lucille getting the most credit. She has shaped Shaquille O’Neal in more ways than we can count.

Shaquille O’Neal’s mom makes him kinder

She molded his definition of ‘rich’ when she sacrificed personal joys like new clothes and a car to raise her kids. She went through several hardships in her life and Shaq confessed he didn’t make it easy for her. Lucille also battled her own demons, struggling with addiction when her son’s pro basketball career was on the rise.

Lucille admitted she squandered her son’s earnings on her problems before fixing herself. She admitted that faith helped her overcome her alcohol addiction. She is the reason Shaq went back to school and finished three degrees. He’d then put his mother through college and restart her life.

Shaq has only given back tenfold for all the sacrifices Lucille made when he and his siblings were children. What do you think about this heartwarming mother-son duo?

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