Shaq Weighs In On Adam Levine's Alleged Cheating Scandal, Opens Up About His Own Past Family Drama

It’s been over a week now since Adam Levine first made headlines due to an alleged cheating scandal. Initially, TikToker Sumner Stroh took to the platform and claimed to be the mistress of the Maroon 5 frontman, who’s married to Victoria’s Secret model Behati Prinsloo. Shortly after, four other women went public with claims against the former The Voice coach. Levine has since denied having had an affair but did acknowledge that he used “poor judgement.” Amid the situation, the music maven’s friend, Shaquille O’Neal, has weighed in while also opening up about his own past family drama.

Shaq has never been one to mince words, as the four-time NBA champion has occasionally shared (sometimes brutally) honest thoughts on different celebrity-related situations. However, when it comes to the drama surrounding Adam Levine, he’s not aiming to preach to anyone. The former basketball player got candid about his reasoning for that during an episode of his The Big Podcast:

I am going to step down from this situation. Let me tell you why. I was a serial cheater. It would be crazy and blasphemous for me to get up here and say boom boom bam. I can’t do that. I know these guys personally. I know they’re going through a lot because I went through a lot.

Shaquille O’Neal is referring to his past infidelities during his marriage to Shaunie O’Neal, who recently remarried. Shaquille has been open about the mistakes he made as a husband, even going as far as to admit that he felt “lost” following his divorce to Shaunie. It must be said that unlike O’Neal, we do not know for sure whether Adam Levine actually cheated. Nevertheless, it seems that Shaq can, at least, empathize with the fact that his friend and his family are going through a turbulent time:

I’ve known Adam for a long time. And they’re going through a lot of family stuff. But I’m never the guy that’s gonna get up here because of my platform and fake it. I did it; I was the best at it; I’m not proud of it: I lost my family doing it. I lost valuable, important years with my children from doing it. So I refuse to get up here, ‘You shouldn’t have did this, you shouldn’t have did that.’ I’m not that guy.

Adam Levine’s situation is arguably quite different from the NBA alum’s. Aside from facing accusations from supposed mistresses, leaked DMs of Levine’s alleged sexting have also made the rounds on social media. When addressing the situation, Levine stated that he “crossed the line” by “speaking with anyone other than my wife in ANY kind of flirtatious manner.” He also suggested that he’s seeking to put his family first throughout this situation, saying that they’ll “get through it together.” Reports claim that the currently pregnant Behati Prinsloo is standing by her husband, though a source claims that she’s “upset” by things that have purportedly transpired.

There’s always a chance that some other celebrities choose to share thoughts on the Adam Levine controversy sometime in the near future. However, based on his recent comments, don’t expect Shaq to say much more (if anything more) on the matter. And as for how this all plays out for Levine and Behati Prinsloo, that remains to be seen.

Erik Swann
Senior Content Producer

Erik Swann is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He began working with the publication in 2020 when he was hired as Weekend Editor. Today, he continues to write, edit and handle social media responsibilities over the weekend. On weekdays, he also writes TV and movie-related news and helps out with editing and social media as needed. He graduated from the University of Maryland, where he received a degree in Broadcast Journalism. After shifting into multi-platform journalism, he started working as a freelance writer and editor before joining CB. Covers superheroes, sci-fi, comedy, and almost anything else in film and TV. He eats more pizza than the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.