The story started with a fake screenshot. It ended with Shaquille O’Neal saying four words about Sabrina Carpenter that her fanbase did not let slide.
Here is what happened. In the past week, screenshots began circulating on social media purporting to show O’Neal sliding into Carpenter’s Instagram DMs with a series of messages so aggressively over-the-top that the only reasonable question was whether they were real.
They were not. By the time O’Neal sat down on the March 20 episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq to address them, reading the messages aloud with his guest rapper Jim Jones and co-host Bailey Jackson, the story had already traveled far enough that his response became its own news cycle.
The four words that set Carpenter’s fanbase off, “Who is she anyway?”
O’Neal said it while laughing off the fake exchange. He was making the point that the screenshots were absurd on their face, and that the account shown in them did not even match his actual social media presence.
But to fans of Carpenter, one of the biggest pop stars in the world right now, the line landed like a challenge.
Her fanbase responded immediately and in volume, pointing out exactly who she is, in considerable detail.
What Did The Messages Say?
O’Neal asked Jones to read the headline that had been circulating alongside the screenshots first. Jones read it straight, “Shaq exposed for shooting his shot at Sabrina Carpenter.”
O’Neal then took over and read the alleged DMs himself, slowly, in his signature deep voice, to give his audience a clear sense of how ridiculous they were.
The opening message attributed to him, “Damn, baby. I would keep your farts in a cologne bottle and spray it on me every day. Just jokes. I’m Shaq. What’s your name, baby?”
The fake Carpenter response in the screenshots, “I know who you are. You’re way too famous to be sending messages like that.”
The exchange escalated from there. Further messages attributed to O’Neal read, “I can’t be horny and want some of that snow bunny kitty for no reason. You can’t handle Big Diesel anyway. My meat would have you in the hospital.”
Jones could barely get through listening to it. He called the fart cologne line “the illest line I’ve ever heard in my life,” then collected himself long enough to brand the whole thing “wild.”
The room was laughing. O’Neal was performing the messages in an exaggerated voice to emphasize how far removed they were from anything he would actually send.
Did Shaq Deny Sending The DMs?
O’Neal’s approach to this was not a serious denial, it was ridicule. He did not get defensive. He mocked the messages and used their absurdity as the proof.
“First of all, ladies, the Diesel got way more game than that. I’m just saying,” he told the podcast audience.
He also pointed to the concrete reason the screenshots were fake: the account shown in them did not match his actual verified social media presence.
Someone had photoshopped his image onto a different account to manufacture the exchange.
Bailey Jackson backed him up directly, “I definitely do not believe that is you. It has your picture photoshopped in there. Social media is a dangerous game.”
O’Neal attributed the whole fabrication to “youngsters” trying to game the algorithm and go viral. Jones agreed, “It’s so crazy what people are spending their energy and time on. I would think they would have better things to do.”
Jones also noted that with today’s AI tools and image editing software, virtually anything can be made to look authentic.
The fabricated exchange is part of a wider pattern of fake celebrity DM screenshots that circulate regularly, forcing the named parties to choose between ignoring them and actively responding.
O’Neal chose to respond. His choice to lean into humor rather than outrage was probably the more effective call.
Reading the fart cologne line aloud in front of a podcast audience deflates the story more efficiently than any press statement could.
Who Is Sabrina Carpenter?
O’Neal’s “Who is she anyway?” comment, however offhand, landed in front of one of the most mobilized fan communities in pop music right now, and they answered the question.
Carpenter is 26 years old. In February 2026 she won two Grammy Awards: Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Solo Performance for “Espresso,” one of the most commercially dominant pop singles in recent memory.
The week before the fake DM story went viral, she performed to an estimated crowd of over 125,000 people at Lollapalooza Brasil in São Paulo, a set that fans and critics called one of the most iconic of her career to date.
Her Short n’ Sweet album cycle turned her from a well-known pop presence into a genuine global superstar, and her fanbase, which has been growing and intensifying throughout that run, is not known for letting perceived slights pass quietly.
The combination of O’Neal’s dismissive framing and the absurdity of the fake messages created exactly the kind of moment that travels on social media.
Carpenter herself has not commented publicly. Her representatives have not issued a statement.
There is no indication the two have any real-world connection beyond the fact that someone on the internet decided to invent one.
She is reportedly single following her split from actor Barry Keoghan in December 2024.
Why Did This Story Blow Up?
What the Shaq-Carpenter fake DM story illustrates, beyond the specific incident, is how efficiently the algorithm rewards fabricated celebrity crossovers.
Put two recognizable names in a screenshot together, particularly when the implied dynamic is unexpected or salacious, and the post travels regardless of whether anyone seriously believes it.
O’Neal is 54, a Hall of Famer, and one of the most recognizable people alive. Carpenter is 26 and currently at the top of her field.
The age gap, the randomness of the pairing, and the sheer absurdity of the messages all made it more shareable, not less.
O’Neal understood this. His decision to address it on his own platform, on his own terms, and with humor rather than indignation, kept control of the story on his side.
He got ahead of it. Whether the response fully landed for Carpenter’s fanbase is a different question.
The messages were fake. She has not said a word. Her fans said plenty.
