Shaquille O’Neal Destroys Kanye West In Twitter Feud Over Kyrie Irving
Shaquille O’Neal ripped Kyrie Irving earlier this week, and Kyrie's new No. 1 fan - Kanye 'Ye' West - responded by taking aim at Shaq.
The beef all started when West tweeted out a picture of a Fox News article first reporting on O'Neal's comments on Irving earlier this week on TNT's NBA studio show.
"It hurts me sometimes when we have to sit up here to talk about stuff that divides the game," O'Neal said. "Now we got to answer for what this idiot has done."
Late Thursday night, West decided to inject himself into the conversation.
"They make us bully ourselves because of our business alignments," he tweeted.
Shaq rips Kanye West in Twitter post
Confused? Don't worry, West then elaborated in a pair of follow up tweets.
"Shaq is in business with Jamie Salter. Jaimie first said he's 50/50 with David Beckham and 50/50 with Shaq. I said "Jamie . . . There’s no such thing as 50/50 in business . . . Who has the extra 1 percent for the control and voting rights," he said in one post.
"Jamie then said he's actually got the 51 percent on both those deals We as the creators and talent get so caught up in our vanity that we don’t read or understand the fine print Like Dave Chapelle said, we need to stop giving up control over our own names and our likeness," West added in a separate tweet.
Jamie Salter is a Canadian billionaire whose company, Authentic Brands Group, manages Shaq's name and likeness. O'Neal happens to be one of the company's largest shareholders.
Anyway, word eventually got back to Shaq, and the NBA Hall of Famer took a blowtorch to West on Twitter.
Less than an hour after the original twitter thread, O'Neal responded.
"Believe me you don't know me like that," Shaq directly responded to West's tweet. "Worry about your business, and to quote the once great Kanye west " I got more money than you, so why would i listen to you" take my advice get your family business in order. Have a great day brother."
Kyrie Irving, Kanye West embroiled in controversy
West and Irving have been at the center of controversy for much of the past week.
It all started when West tweeted that he would go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.” The antisemetic remark led to immense backlash, with several companies and sports figures severing ties with West.
Both his Twitter and Instagram accounts were locked (they’ve since been unlocked), Forbes said it cost him his Billionaire status after Adidas cut ties, and the CAA talent agency dropped him from its clientele.
Shaquille O’Neal clapped back at Kanye West over Kyrie Irving comments. (Photo by Mercedes Oliver/NBAE via Getty Images)
Irving, meanwhile, has been in the news ever since posting a link to a film titled Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America.
The film contains racially charged messaging, which Irving has not voiced or discussed at length.
The Nets suspended Irving Thursday after he spoke to reporters and reiterated that he cannot be antisemitic and has a firm understanding of his beliefs. The ban will cost him over $2 million in game checks.
He later apologized in an Instagram post.