Why Shaquille O’Neal refuses to call himself a ‘celebrity’

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. I never want to be in that category,” the NBA Hall of Famer told the outlet, explaining that “a lot of these people, when they come to a certain status, it automatically gives them the right to think they’re smarter than you, they’re better than you, they’re bigger than you, and I never wanted to be like that.” He continued, mentioning that he has never travelled with a group of people like an entourage or showed off his wealth in a flashy manner through jewellery. “She’s like, ‘How do you think that look?’ I was like, ‘That looks stupid,’” he recalls without detailing the exact moment. I’m just a guy that played in the NBA.” Part of being a “regular person” also means being honest about specific aspects of life, like when O’Neal talked about his 55-pound weight loss back in September. “I was like, ‘I’m gonna lose 20’ and then I was trying to lose 20.” According to O’Neal, who weighed 406 pounds at the start of his journey, he began by exercising, with the Los Angeles Lakers legend then changing his eating habits as well.