SHAQ SHOOTS HIS SHOT LIVE ON AIR
The Big Diesel might have retired from the NBA years ago, but he is clearly still trying to score. In a moment that has viewers screaming at their screens in second-hand embarrassment, Shaquille O’Neal turned a professional sit-down interview into his own personal episode of The Bachelor. The target of his aggressive affection? Fox Houston reporter Jade Flury, who found herself on the receiving end of some of the thirstiest comments we have ever seen from a sports legend.
The interview, which took place on Wednesday, January , was supposed to be a standard chat about Shaq’s life, business, and ups and downs. Instead, it devolved into a masterclass in awkward flirting. O’Neal, , wasted absolutely zero time in letting Flury know exactly what was on his mind. While discussing life advice, Shaq pivoted hard, telling the journalist there is “no manual on how to handle certain things” before dropping a line that made the entire studio temperature rise about ten degrees.
“There’s no manual on you being a young, gorgeous, African-American news anchor,” O’Neal told Flury, staring her down with the intensity of a Game free throw. It was a bold, brazen move to comment on her appearance in the middle of a professional broadcast, but if there is one thing we know about Shaq, it is that he does not care about boundaries.
“I watched this live and my jaw hit the floor. He was looking at her like she was a snack. Shaq has zero chill.”
Flury, to her credit, hardly reacted. She kept her composure like a seasoned pro, likely trying to dodge the uncomfortable energy radiating from the -foot- Hall of Famer. But Shaq was just getting warmed up. The conversation quickly shifted from career advice to romance, and things got weird fast.
THE “ON YOUR KNEES” COMMENT THAT ROCKED THE INTERNET
If the “gorgeous” comment was a yellow flag, what came next was a full-blown red alert. Flury, attempting to steer the ship back to journalism, quizzed O’Neal about his current relationship status. It was a fair question given the rumors constantly swirling around the big man. But Shaq decided to flip the script and turn the interview into a proposal scenario.
When discussing what he wants in a woman, Shaq listed off honor and respect before pausing for a dramatic beat. He looked Flury dead in the eye and asked, “Are you asking to marry me?” The audacity is unmatched. He took a standard reporter question and turned it into a direct proposition.
Flury laughed it off, responding, “Uh no, I think it’s the other way around. I don’t get down on my knees to do that.” It was a witty clapback, implying that if anyone was proposing, it should be him. But Shaq’s response took things to a whole other level of suggestive.
“Well, you wouldn’t have to get on your knees,” O’Neal shot back instantly. “I don’t make people get on their knees. Just ask me.”
Hold the phone. Did Shaquille O’Neal just make an “on your knees” joke to a reporter on live television? While the context was technically about a marriage proposal, the innuendo was thick enough to cut with a knife. Social media immediately erupted, dissecting the double entendre. Was he being chivalrous, or was he being… Shaq? The look in his eye suggested he knew exactly what he was saying.
MARRIED TO THE GAME… OR HIMSELF?
Before the knee-gate scandal ensued, the interview touched on Shaq’s confusing relationship status. When Flury point-blank asked him for the ladies watching at home, “What is your relationship status?” O’Neal delivered a line that sounded like it came straight out of a PR crisis handbook.
“I’m married,” he declared.
This stopped everyone in their tracks. Shaq? Married? He has been one of the world’s most eligible—and notorious—bachelors since his split from Shaunie Henderson way back in . Flury, doing her due diligence, immediately clocked that the big man wasn’t wearing a ring. She called him out on it instantly.
That is when Shaq dropped the punchline: “I’m married to myself.”
Classic deflection. It is the kind of answer you give when you are trying to hide a roster of girlfriends or simply trying to sound deep. But he didn’t stop there. He went on to tease that his bachelor days might be numbered. When asked if he would ever walk down the aisle again, he looked Flury up and down and said, “Yeah, I’ll probably get married soon.”
“He says he’s married to himself but then flirts with everything moving. Shaq is the ultimate player.”
Is this a hint? Is there a secret fiancée waiting in the wings? Or was he just trying to bait the reporter into thinking she had a chance? With Shaq, it is always a game, and he is always the MVP.
THE “NICE GIRL” REQUIREMENTS
Shaq also took the opportunity to lay out exactly what he is looking for in a partner, and his requirements were surprisingly simple—or deceptively basic. For a man worth hundreds of millions of dollars who travels the globe DJing and investing in tech, you would think he needs a power player.
“I just want her to be nice,” O’Neal claimed. “People are too picky sometimes. ‘I want this, I want that.’ I want somebody that’s nice and somebody that’s going to treat you with honor and respect. That’s it. That’s all you want.”
Honor and respect. Interesting choice of words for a man who famously admitted to serial cheating during his first marriage. O’Neal has been very vocal in recent years about his regrets regarding his relationship with Shaunie, often blaming himself entirely for the divorce. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes,” he told Flury during the chat. “But it’s called life experience.”
He seems to be on a redemption tour, looking for a woman who will simply treat him well. But his actions during the interview—the flirting, the gaze, the innuendo—suggest that the “player” element of his personality is very much alive and well. He might want “nice,” but he clearly enjoys the chase.
SCANDALOUS RUMORS AND INSTAGRAM BEEF
This flirtatious interview comes hot on the heels of yet another messy tabloid saga involving O’Neal. Just last month, in December , Shaq found himself in the middle of a viral storm involving a friend’s wife. A sports media account, thQuarterTV, posted a photo suggesting Shaq was getting too cozy with a woman named Monique Martin.
The internet went wild, accusing Shaq of crossing the line. But the Diesel wasn’t having it. He clapped back in the comments section with the ferocity of a dunk shattering a backboard.
“Yes my boys wife I can tell yall site is broke and need money nice try this is the reason yall always gonna b a broke blog,” O’Neal raged on Instagram. “Thanks for making me more money though dummies.”
It turns out Monique Martin is married to Shaq’s buddy Ryan Rackleff, and they have three kids. Martin even jumped into the fray to defend Uncle Shaq, captioning a photo, “Class act always, which is why I love seeing that face pop in!!!” She even called him “the biggest baby ever” in the comments.
While that specific rumor was debunked, it highlights a pattern: Shaq is always seen around beautiful women, and the lines are often blurry until he clarifies them. His interaction with Jade Flury is just the latest chapter in the book of Shaq’s complicated public love life.
THE AFTERMATH: AWKWARD OR LEGENDARY?
So, where does this leave the reporter, Jade Flury? She graduated from the University of Houston in and is building a serious career in journalism. Getting hit on by one of the most famous men on the planet is certainly a way to go viral, but was it professional?
Critics are calling O’Neal out for putting her in an impossible position. She has to be polite to the interview subject, but she also has to deflect unwanted sexual advances on live TV. It is a tightrope walk, and Flury handled it with grace. But let’s be real: Shaq knew exactly what he was doing. He used his power and charm to turn a news segment into a flirt session.
“Before you succeed, you must first learn to fail and you have to figure things out,” Shaq preached during the interview. Maybe his next lesson should be on workplace boundaries.
CLIFFHANGER: WHO IS THE NEXT MRS. O’NEAL?
Shaq dropped the bomb that he will “probably get married soon.” That is not a throwaway comment. That is a teaser. Is he secretly dating someone? Is he planning a massive reveal? Or was he just trying to impress the “gorgeous” reporter sitting across from him?
We are keeping our eyes peeled on Shaq’s finger. If a ring pops up—or if he is spotted in Houston again hanging out near the Fox studios—we will know exactly what is going on. The Big Aristotle is on the prowl, and nobody is safe from his charm offensive.
