Shaquille O’Neal is facing criticism after commenting on an outfit recently worn by WNBA star Angel Reese.
On the October 24 episode of her podcast, An unforgiving angelThe 52-year-old retired athlete, who has previously opened up about his close relationship with Reese, 22, discussed imagining the Chicago Sky forward dunking a basketball in a pair of “little shorts.”
While discussing how the dropped hemlines could affect the WNBA, O’Neal said, “Imagine yourself in the same shorts you had on the Wild ‘N Out dunk show,” referring to the shorts Reese wore while made a cameo on Wild ‘N Out Live Tour’s Chicago stop earlier this month.
“Do you know how many shirts you will sell?” he asked before adding, “You’re splicing.” In response, Reese rolled her eyes, laughed awkwardly, and said, “Oh my god.”
“What? Those same shorts you were wearing Wild ‘N Out…” O’Neal continued before Reese tried to cut him off and change the subject.
“Okay. okay okay okay okay,” she repeated.
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However, before moving off the topic, the NBA alum clarified that he wouldn’t buy the theoretical shirt himself, telling Reese that it’s “beautiful.”
“You’re not pretty or hot—you’re gorgeous,” he said. “There are a lot of beautiful women in the WNBA.”
After O’Neal’s episode, he faced backlash online for his comments and how unpleasant they seemed to Reese.
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One post on Xu, with nearly 100,000 likes, read: “I’m afraid Angel Reese has learned a painful lesson about men through shaq in real time.”
Another post called out the retired athlete for “sexualizing Angel Reese when he’s 30 years her senior and has kids older than her.”
A representative for O’Neal did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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Angel Reese; Shaquille O’Neal.
John Shearer/WireImage; Todd Owyoung/NBC/Getty
Earlier this year, Reese described O’Neal — who accompanied her and her mom during LSU’s graduation day celebration — as a “father figure” while speaking with USA Today.
“He’s super inspiring to me,” Reese told the paper. “He’s so honest, he’s been there for me through hard times. He just gets it and there’s no more perfect person I could be closer to.”
“We have fun, and if I needed something, he would help me … and he would do it even if I never played basketball again,” she continued. “He doesn’t care about me as a player, but about me as a person.”
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Source: HIS Education