Shaquille O’Neal has a message for anyone who criticized Rihanna’s Super Bowl LVII halftime show: “Shut the f–k up!”
“All you people disrespecting my Rihanna, shut your face. Shut it up,” the former basketball player, 50, said on “The Big Podcast with Shaq” Wednesday.
“We living in a world where people got too much freedom. Keep your f–king thoughts to yourself,” he continued. “She did a wonderful job, she’s pregnant, she blessed it, she did her thang, she didn’t fall. Just leave it there. All you superstars that’s disrespectful and causing beef, shut your face. Shut it up.”
O’Neal — who was present for the “Kiss It Better” singer’s hit-filled performance Sunday — then said that he would have to “get at” any “rappers” or “presidential candidates” for bad-mouthing Rihanna if she were his girlfriend.
“Leave this woman alone,” he added. “Rihanna is Rihanna. I was there. It was beautiful. She did a great job. I didn’t know she was pregnant until she bust out, but leave her alone.”
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The four-time NBA champ conclude his message by giving a round of applause to the “Diamonds” singer, 34, before admitting that it was his first time seeing her perform live.
“All you people that got something to say, shut the f–k up! How ’bout that?” he declared.
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O’Neal’s comments come three days after Rihanna hit the stage to perform a gravity-defying 13-minute set at the NFL championship game.
Not only did the Fenty Beauty founder wow the crowd with her biggest hits — including “Work,” “Rude Boy” and “Bitch Better Have My Money” — she also debuted her baby bump to the world, revealing that she and A$AP Rocky are expecting their second child.
While several fans praised the Grammy winner for performing while pregnant, other people felt that her show was lackluster.
“Real Housewives of New York City” alum Bethenny Frankel said Rihanna’s performance was “good not great.” However, she stated that the “Umbrella” singer was a “winner” because she was able to promote her billion-dollar makeup company.
Additionally, Howard Stern slammed Rihanna for lip-synching about “85 percent” of her show — despite most Super Bowl performances, including Whitney Houston’s iconic 1991 rendition of the national anthem, being lipped.
“You know, I don’t even know why she bothered showing up,” Stern said during Monday’s episode of his Sirius XM show. “I could be wrong, but — I, in my opinion — 85 percent of that performance was lip-synch.”
