Shaquille O’Neal left the set during a live April 21, 2025, broadcast of TNT’s Inside the NBA while the panel was discussing the Denver Nuggets–Los Angeles Clippers playoff game. He returned, apologized to viewers, and later explained on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that he had to use the bathroom. Here’s how the moment unfolded—and what he said about the olive-oil joke afterward.
What happened during the live broadcast?
As the hosts analyzed the first-round playoff matchup between Denver and Los Angeles, O’Neal abruptly got up and headed off the set. He told his co-hosts, “Go ahead, keep talking,” according to Fox News’s April 22, 2025, account of the live segment.
After returning to the desk, O’Neal joked that the panel needed to wrap so they could go to a break, then apologized to viewers: “Sorry about that, America.”
Why did Shaq leave the set?
On his May 22, 2025, appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, O’Neal explained that he had been drinking a lot of water that day. He clarified the reason for his exit: “It wasn’t a number-one run, it was a number-two run. I had to go so bad!” Us Weekly reported his comments the following day.
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Was olive oil the cause?
No cause was established. During the broadcast, co-host Kenny Smith joked, “It’s that olive oil you’ve been drinking.” O’Neal later told Fallon that he had tried olive oil after seeing an Instagram claim about it. His account describes something he tried; it does not establish that olive oil caused the urgent bathroom break or support using it as a health remedy.
When did the incident happen?
- April 21, 2025: O’Neal left the set during the live Inside the NBA playoff discussion and returned to the desk.
- April 22, 2025: Fox News reported on the broadcast and quoted the on-air exchange.
- May 22, 2025: O’Neal discussed the incident on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon; Us Weekly reported his explanation on May 23.
The quoted broadcast and interview remarks above are reproduced as reported by Fox News and Us Weekly; the original videos were not independently reviewed.
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