“The Earth is flat. Yeah, it is.” With those words, Shaquille O’Neal made it to the Flat-earthers community in 2017. The 7-foot-1 icon had his reasons to put forth the opinion but the belief would remain so in the public eye only for a couple of days. However, what seems to have transpired due to the first comment has Shaq tight-lipped, but not enough; letting us in on the massive loss he incurred. 

In a recent episode of “GOAT Talk” posted by Complex, the former center made a shocking revelation that no NBA fan was aware of till now. “I said the Earth was flat one time and I lost a fucking big deal on that… big deal like $20 million,” said Shaq in a recent interview with his son Myles O’Neal. The 52-year-old had also added that during that time he had received about 500,000 hate mails from his fans. “I am not going to elaborate on that,” he finished. 

7 years ago in one of the episodes of “The Big Podcast with Shaq,” the seven-footer revealed that he was a firm believer in the theory that the earth is flat. “Yes, it is. Listen, there are three ways to manipulate the mind — what you read, what you see, and what you hear,” said Shaq.

He went on to give an example of how driving from Florida to California always made him feel like it was a straight line and not a round. When the reporters even tried to convince Shaq that there were satellite images to prove the earth is round, he would dismiss them by saying that those images were artificially made. However, there’s a great twist to this story.

A few days later, Shaq broke the ice on another podcast by the name of “Art of Charm,” that he was just joking when he had talked about the flat earth theory. “The first part of the theory is, I’m joking, you idiots. That’s the first part of the theory,” said the former NBA champ during the podcast. The All-Star also said that the theory that he had given about driving from Florida to California was just a personal perspective for him. He felt the same while traveling by plane. But that doesn’t mean he was a flat earther.

And that doesn’t keep him away from conspiracy theories either.

Shaquille O’Neal is serious about his theories

“I like listening to theories,” he had said during an appearance on The Kyle & Jackie O Show. “It’s not about figuring them out, or he’s wrong or he’s right — it’s just a theory.” Well, that seems to be something that has been found of since he was a kid.

The LA Lakers icon reveals that for him the JFK assassination was one of the most defined conspiracy theories that had engaged his curiosity. He admits that he would spend his time at a book depository in Dallas only to study everything about the assassination when he was young. But he doesn’t expand on it because of the sensitive topic it can be. 

But that wouldn’t be the only instance Shaq has made known his interest in theories. The 4x champion, on Inside the NBA once stated that he believed there were two moons. The reason? When he was driving one night, the moon moved from the left to his back. “And then another 45 seconds the moon was on my right,” he said. Though the crew burst out laughing, Shaq was pretty adamant. The Big Diesel believes what he believes.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger