Shaquille O’Neal is still cracking jokes from the hospital bed.
On Sunday, Shaq posted a photo of himself on Twitter lying in a hospital bed. Giving no explanation as to why he was there, he merely captioned the picture to let everyone know that he’s still watching his colleagues on TNT.
“I’m always watching [Ernie Johnson] and [Candace Parker] miss y’all,” he wrote.
Many fans expressed their legitimate concern and confusion in the comment section, a lot of people asking if he was okay while others wished him a speedy recovery.
Seeing as though people were concerned for his health, he took to Instagram to let everyone know the reason for his hospitalization.
“To all the people who are concerned. First let me start off by saying thank you,” he wrote. “And lastly i am fine. Just had to get some BBL [Brazilian buttlift] work done aka #hipreplacement.”
“But yes i am fine no need to worry,” he ended the caption.
The photo he posted was of a younger Shaq in his Lakers uniform, hiking up his shorts to reveal his rear. The photo was edited with an effect on his butt that made it pop in and out, looping it to look bigger and smaller.
The top comment on the post dubbed Shaq as “Cheekquille O’Neal”.
TMZ was first to report that the four-time NBA champion was undergoing hip surgery and that everything was going “according to plan”.
Besides the “BBL”, Shaq has recently made another physical transformation, losing 40 pounds.
In December, Shaq talked with ET about his weight loss and his goal to “lose about 20 more [pounds]” in 2023.
“Imma get real chiseled up and do an underwear ad with my sons,” he joked.
He decided to lose the weight after receiving blood work that urged him to change his diet and live a healthier lifestyle.
“I got a couple people involved – it’s all about eating right,” he started. “I got some blood work done, a friend of mine called me and said, ‘You’re fat,’ and she gave me this guy’s name, and he did some blood work, and you know, ’cause I was the athlete – I wasn’t a salad eater. I won’t pay attention to any of that. I don’t care about none of that.
“I didn’t know the difference between a carb and a protein, at 50 years old I never knew,” he admitted. “So, he was saying you can’t do this, you can’t do that, more vegetables, my iron’s low. And once I just started changing those certain things, it dropped.”
He shared that the supplements and shakes he was consuming helped drop the weight, but he wasn’t in “100 percent ninja mode” yet, rather an aspiring “75 percent”.
Shaq’s fitness routine also included walking 30 minutes a day and cutting back on bread and soda.
“I think I could get the Marky Wahlberg look,” he quipped. “I want to be known as the Black Mark Wahlberg.”
There’s no further update on Shaq’s condition, but he seems to be on the mend and doing well following his hip replacement surgery.
Sources:
https://www.eonline.com/news/1368738/shaquille-oneal-shares-reason-behind-hospitalization
https://people.com/sports/shaquille-oneal-worries-fans-hospital-photo/
