Shaquille O’Neal couldn’t help but walk away from the “Inside the NBA” desk on Tuesday night.
Kenny Smith made a reference to the rapper Jay-Z — who is accused of raping a 13-year-old girl at an MTV Video Music Awards afterparty in 2000 in a lawsuit filed on Dec. 8 — and Charles Barkley’s reaction created another viral moment on the TNT broadcast.
“You think Jay-Z or, or, or,” Smith said.
“Probably not a good time right now,” Barkley chimed in after tapping Smith’s arm.
“You’re all silly, man,” Smith said as he shook his head and smiled.
O’Neal, who appeared to be laughing, got up and stood behind a wall on the set.
“Go see if you can fix the wall, will you, Shaq?” Ernie Johnson said. “In fact, here, I’ll go with you.”
Johnson got up and joined O’Neal, who was standing with his back turned to the camera.
The TNT production crew was also heard laughing in the background.
Barkley added, “Too soon, Kenny.”
Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, has vehemently denied the allegations against him and fellow rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs that were stated in an amended civil complaint filed by a woman identified as Jane Doe.
Combs — who is is currently behind bars in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center while awaiting trial on sex trafficking and racketeering charges — denied the allegations made by Doe.
In the complaint, the plaintiff alleges Combs and Jay-Z, both now 55, raped her while an unnamed female celebrity watched during the party, which took place in a New York City residence.
The initial complaint, which was filed in October, did not reference Jay-Z by name.
Jay-Z called the allegations “idiotic” and “heinous in nature” in a statement released by Roc Nation, one of his companies, on Sunday.
