Entertainment
Woman From Viral Pacers Couple Bashes Shaquille O’Neal
UPDATE — 4/13/26, 7:37 p.m. ET: Grace, who went viral with her boyfriend Michael at a recent Indiana Pacers game, has clarified her comments about Shaquille O’Neal after her Inside the NBA appearance.
“I am a private person that has been thrown into the public eye unexpectedly and am doing my best to navigate it with good humor,” she said in a statement shared with Us Weekly. “The two of us had a wonderful time on the show- Shaq did absolutely nothing to make us uncomfortable and I do not view him as “creepy” at all. I was attempting a joke about my flustered reaction in the midst of a high pressure situation. We have nothing but admiration and appreciation for the hosts hospitality and the joy they’ve brought us over the years. Go Pacers.”
Original story below:
One half of the Indiana Pacers fan couple that has taken the NBA world by storm over the last week seems to be over the rush of media attention.
Grace, who went viral with her boyfriend, Michael, after cameras caught them arguing at a Pacers game on Thursday, April 9, even compared Shaquille O’Neal to a “creepy horny uncle” following an appearance on ESPN’s Inside the NBA.
“Shaq was like a creepy horny uncle trying to embarrass his nephew and I went along with it until the bit got embarrassing and I was like alright chill,” Grace wrote via X on Monday, April 13.
She continued, “I’m glad my bf got to meet the people whose videos he shows me constantly but God I am ready to be done with Sports people. I have found u generally exhausting and, forgive me for saying so, I mean this respectfully, not smart in the ways that matter to me. TO ME.”
NBA icon Shaquille O’Neal is addressing the viral rumor claiming he slid into Sabrina Carpenter’s DMs. “First of all, ladies, the diesel got way more game than that,” O’Neal, 54, said on the Friday, March 20, episode of his “Big Podcast” show, reading aloud the fake flirty messages. “I’m just saying.” Social media images surfaced […]
Grace and Michael appeared on Inside the NBA on Sunday, April 12, where O’Neal, 54, told Michael that he would pay for the engagement ring if he proposed to Grace live on the show.
Michael tried to negotiate, saying, “If you guys agree to come to the wedding, we’ll do that.”
Michael and Grace ESPN/X
But while the studio crew began to talk it over, Grace interrupted to remind everyone that, “I didn’t agree to this.”
She added in a separate X post, “Alright i agreed to do this so my boy could talk about BASKETBALL.”
At the beginning of the segment, Michael revealed what the couple was arguing about when cameras memorably caught Grace appearing to say to him, “What the f*** are you talking about?”
Getty Images (2) Shaquille O’Neal is in some hot water after commenting on an outfit that WNBA player Angel Reese wore. On the Thursday, October 24, episode of her “Unapologetically Angel” podcast, O’Neal, 52, discussed the differences between men and women’s basketball while touching on how lowering the rims could impact the WNBA. “Imagine you […]
“Unfortunately, it was as boring as it could be,” Michael said. “We were talking about, sort of, the rigors of a liberal arts education and how I thought it needed to be essentially updated for how the future job market looks, and she disagreed.”
Grace added, “The game was kind of interrupting our usual conversation, which is so funny that this went viral.Just really embarrassing stuff. I’m not a huge sports person. Shaq, I love Icy Hot, that’s where I mostly know you from.”
O’Neal pressed Michael, saying that he didn’t buy that story, based on Grace’s expression. Michael only replied that the couple prefers to keep their private conversations private.
Grace first addressed the viral clip Thursday night, sharing it via X and writing, “IM CRYINGGGGGGGG I LOVE MY BOYFRIEND THIS IS JUST HOW WE TALK!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
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