Kanye West getting into it with someone on social media is nothing new. At this point, it’s expected. But his beef being with Shaquille O’Neal is somewhat shocking, considering he’s one of the most beloved personalities in all of sports. The most surprising part is that The Big Diesel seems to be the one who started this back and forth.
Earlier this week, on a now-deleted Instagram post from Ye, he complimented the founder of American Apparel, Dov Charney. Shaq did not seem to care about anything West said, writing in the comment section, “Who cares stop bitchin and snitchin. i kno u saw me at the Super Bowl i was waiting for u to say something smart. man up. nobody wanna see u cryin man up lil boy.”
Harsh words for a man who is seen on TV weekly cracking jokes with the likes of Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley on “Inside the NBA.”
To no surprise, Ye did not ignore Shaq’s words and wrote a lengthy post on Instagram responding to the NBA legend and… Taylor Swift fans.
In response to Shaq’s claim, West wrote, “OH AND TO SHAQ I GREW UP LOOKING UP TO YOU I WOULD LOVE TO HANG WITH YOU AND JAMIE SOMETIME JAIMIE SALTER IS LIKE A FATHER FIGURE TO ME.”
When it came to Taylor Swift, who Ye is forever connected to, the Chicago rapper posted, “WHEN I SAID THAT I’M THE NEW JESUS BITCH I WASN’T EVEN THINKING ABOUT TAYLOR SWIFT. THAT WAS A WHOLE LINE BEFORE BUT I APPRECIATE THE FREE PROMO.”
“REMEMBER I WAS ON TAYLOR’S SIDE WHEN SCOOTER BOUGHT HER MASTERS BEHIND HER BACK. SHE AND BEYONCÉ ARE BIG INSPIRATIONS TO ALL MUSICIANS WE ALWAYS SAY HOW BOTH SELL OUT TOURS AND MOVIES. ALSO, I’M SURE I’VE BEEN FAR MORE HELPFUL TO TAYLOR SWIFT’S CAREER THAN HARMFUL.”
Ye continued, “TO ALL TAYLOR SWIFT FANS I AM NOT YOUR ENEMY UUUM IM NOT YOUR FRIEND EITHER THOUGH LOL.”
The “Vultures Pt. 1” artist was particularly addressing a post from a Taylor Swift fan page that was urging everyone to stream Beyoncé’s new single “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM,” as a means to block Kanye from getting the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100.
While we can see why that would frustrate Ye, it doesn’t seem to matter anymore, as “Vultures. Pt. 1" was just pulled from Apple Music. The distributor for the album is allegedly actively working to remove it from all streaming services, according to Rolling Stone.