“I was just a paid spokesperson,” Shaquille O’Neal who doesn’t ‘understands crypto’ breaks silence on getting listed in lawsuit over FTX collapse
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Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille O’Neal might be regretting his decision to get into a paid partnership with cryptocurrency company FTX. Earlier, it was reported that FTX had failed and celebrities like Tom Brady, Stephen Curry and Gisele Bündchen were named in the lawsuit. Unfortunately, Shaq was also named in the lawsuit.
However, the former Lakers legend defended his involvement with the company. As he said that he was just a spokesperson for a commercial. “A lot of people think I’m involved, but I was just a paid spokesperson for a commercial,” O’Neal told CNBC Make It. Big Shaq also said he consented to the commercial only after consulting Stephen Curry.
O’Neal has always been skeptical of cryptocurrency saying “it is too good to be true.” However, over the past year, Shaq changed his Twitter display name to “SHAQ.ETH” and “SHAQ.SOL” to promote NFT collections. Those were supported by the Ethereum and Solana cryptocurrency platforms.
Shaquille was also in a commercial that said that he was partnering with FTX to help make crypto accessible to everyone. In the commercial launched in June, O’Neal said, “I’m excited to be partnering with FTX to help make crypto accessible to everyone. I’m all in. Are you?” Shaq admitted that he was not fully educated about the product he was promoting with the company and the crypto money in general.
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Shaquille O’Neal does not invest in cryptocurrency and says its too good to be true
In the past, Shaq has always refrained from getting himself involved in the cryptocurrency business. In a conversation with CNBC, O’Neal had said that he doesn’t understand the crypto money business. And, so he stays away from it. “I don’t understand it, so I will probably stay away from it until I get a full understanding of what it is,” he said, adding: “From my experience, it is too good to be true.”
Even in the past, O’Neal has been cited saying he has declined promotional offers from companies dealing in cryptocurrency. “I always get these companies that say, ‘Hey, we’ll give you $900,000 in crypto to send out a tweet,’” O’Neal said to Front Office. “So I have to say, ‘OK, if you’re going to give me a million dollars worth of crypto, then why do you need me?’”
Shaq’s fellow host on NBA on TNT Charles Barkley agreed with him. As he told CNBC that his advisors have told him not to believe in crypto. “I got a couple of financial guys. One of them said, ‘If I ever put you in crypto, you should fire me on the spot,’” Barkley said.
Also Read: How much is Charles Barkley Net Worth? Know all about his endorsements
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Nandjee Ranjan
(488 Articles Published)