Claim:
Retired NBA star Shaquille O'Neal threw Robert De Niro out of his restaurant because he thought the actor was a "creepy woke jack***."
Rating:
Labeled Satire ( About this rating? )
On June 3, 2024, the Facebook page Classic throwback published a meme claiming retired NBA star Shaquille O'Neal threw Robert De Niro out of his restaurant because he thought the actor was a "creepy woke jack***."
Classic throwback captioned the photo: "Good job Shaq."
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=376029062141585&set=a.258422927235533
Similar posts appeared elsewhere on Facebook later in June, with one amassing more than 50,000 interactions at the time of this writing. The claim also cropped up on X on June 17.
Facebook users replying to the June 3 post appeared to believe the claim was true, with one writing: "If De Niro knew the feelings of the owner, he and all his friends and supporters would have gone elsewhere."
Another commented: "I can't believe this. I thought Shaq was a good guy. This is so sad."
However, this item was not a factual recounting of real-life events. It was originally posted by SpaceXMania , a website that described its output as being satirical in nature , as follows:
Welcome to our website, owned and operated by Funky Productions LLC. We are a team of writers and editors based in New York, USA. Our mission? To bring you the freshest fake news, some sassy analysis, and a good dose of satire, all rolled into one crazy concoction that orbits around Elon Musk and everything that's lighting up the viral/trending charts... Quick heads up, though – every single article on our site is about as real as a unicorn sipping on a rainbow smoothie. They're pure fantasy, folks, not a snapshot of reality.
SpaceXMania's original article (archived here ) was labeled "Satire" and was written by author Alex Bruno .
His author page on SpaceXMania noted: "Alex is also known for his satirical writing, which often takes a humorous and irreverent look at contemporary issues and events."
Classic throwback's meme also included a "Rated Satire" label in the top-left corner of the image.
Snopes found no evidence O'Neal threw De Niro out of any of his restaurants, and likewise no news outlets reported such news.
We have addressed similar satirical claims about De Niro, such as Paramount permanently banning the actor for being a "creepy clown," and "The View" hitting its lowest ratings ever after featuring him.
For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.
Sources:
About Us - SpaceXMania . 3 Jan. 2021, https://spacexmania.com/about-us/ .
Alex Bruno - SpaceXMania . 18 June 2024, https://spacexmania.com/author/admin/ .
Breaking: Shaq Throws Robert De Niro Out Of His Restaurant, 'He's A Creepy Woke Jackass' . 2 June 2024, https://spacexmania.com/breaking-shaq-throws-robert-de-niro-out-of-his-restaurant-hes-a-creepy-woke-jackass12/ .
Liles, Jordan. '"The View" Hit Lowest Ratings in TV History After Featuring Robert De Niro?' Snopes , 11 June 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/the-view-de-niro/ .
PerryCook, Taija. 'Paramount Permanently Banned "Creepy Clown" Robert De Niro?' Snopes , 5 June 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/paramount-banned-de-niro/ .
Shaquille o'neal Robert de Niro Restaurant - Google Search . https://www.google.com/search?q=shaquille+o%27neal+robert+de+niro+restaurant&sca_esv=8eb2b271edd6fc02&ei=hJJxZtSpNY7YhbIPqPeEmAc&ved=0ahUKEwjU-8_Pp-WGAxUObEEAHag7AXMQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=shaquille+o%27neal+robert+de+niro+restaurant&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiKnNoYXF1aWxsZSBvJ25lYWwgcm9iZXJ0IGRlIG5pcm8gcmVzdGF1cmFudDIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABMgUQIRigAUiUZVDbAViXZHACeACQAQCYAcoCoAH2DKoBBzUuNi4xLjG4AQPIAQD4AQGYAg-gAvoNwgIOEAAYgAQYsAMYhgMYigXCAgsQABiABBiwAxiiBMICBxAhGKABGAqYAwCIBgGQBgWSBwc1LjguMS4xoAejNw&sclient=gws-wiz-serp . Accessed 18 June 2024.
--- . https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=8eb2b271edd6fc02&q=shaquille+o%27neal+robert+de+niro+restaurant&tbm=nws&source=lnms&fbs=AEQNm0Aa4sjWe7Rqy32pFwRj0UkWd8nbOJfsBGGB5IQQO6L3J5MIFhvnvU242yFxzEEp3BeeRDeomFf8DkO7myIzvXpiBZLeK8lOOHkifHZCjMCSxhJreGmZcWppdd2A_2uqfKUXDLsbbtodTprZCiIGpEf7WBKrWG1Fk0TC4DyevdW0Zp-HCyVHhtAvXMBNpmSBrTpeYAUK&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj018XWp-WGAxUETEEAHRAeBlEQ0pQJegQIDRAB&biw=1280&bih=593&dpr=1.5 . Accessed 18 June 2024.
SpaceXMania - News You Can Trust . 18 June 2024, https://spacexmania.com/ .
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