Shaquille O'Neil may be a celebrity, but call him one at your own risk.
The four-time NBA champion and one of the greatest basketball players of all time renounced his celebrity status in an interview with the New York Post.
The 7-foot-1 former Los Angeles Lakers superstar has announced that he's done with the "celebrity" label, and begs fans not to refer to him as one.
"These celebrities are going freaking crazy and I don’t want to be one. I denounce my celebrity-ness today. I’m done with it," he told the outlet.
"I don’t want to be in that category. Celebrities are crazy, they really are. Don’t call me that anymore. These people are out of their freaking mind with how they treat people, what they do, what they say. That’s never been me. I never want to be looked at like that," he added.
He said celebrities often get "stereotyped" because most celebrities are "out of their mind".
"All my life, everyone probably gets stereotyped, but us celebrities, we get stereotyped because most of these celebrities are out of their mind. I don’t do that. I’m a regular person that listened, followed his dreams and made it," he added.
Instead, Shaq said he would rather be known for his kindness away from the basketball court and television cameras.
While O’Neal acknowledged his rags-to-riches story, he emphasized that he does not think of himself as greater or smarter than the average person.
"I came from nothing," he said. "But, just because I made it doesn’t mean I’m bigger than you, smarter than you - just because I have more money doesn’t mean I’m better than you.
"I’ve never been that way and I never will be that way. So I don’t want to be in that category of people.” When they talk about Shaq, what do you say? ‘He’s a nice guy.’ Because what else can you be? You’re either nice or you’re the A-word, and I definitely won’t be looked at as the A-word."
"I want people to say, 'Bro, he's nice. He didn't have an entourage. His people didn't take my phone because I took a picture and threw it,'" he added.
