Shaquille O’Neal Doesn’t Identify As A Celebrity, Because He Says Most Celebrities Are ‘A**Holes’

Shaquille O’Neal has always managed to stay afloat in whatever he chooses to do—probably because he lives by a self-defined code.

The former LSU Tiger took time out of his busy schedule to chat with People.com. During the interview, Shaq Diesel said he separated himself from the “celebrity” title decades ago.

“I denounced myself from being a celebrity thirty years ago because a lot of celebrities are a-holes… Celebrities are obnoxious and often rude to people. I don’t want to be in that category. I’d rather demote myself to being just a regular person before you call me a celebrity and put me in the category of those jerk-offs,” Shaq said to People.

The TNT analyst also said he’s also picky about who he decides to work with. For instance, Shaq told the outlet that Bad Luck Brian, the internet star who appears next to the former Los Angeles Laker in the latest General Insurance commercial, is a pleasant guy.

“I don’t like to work with celebrities because celebrities are crazy, so I just like to work with people,” Shaq said during the interview. “He was a very nice guy,” O’Neal said of Brian. “People are saying ‘internet celebrities,’ but I don’t want to use those terms in this. He was nice, I was nice, and his story is an amazing story, how he became the sensation that he is.”

In the interview, the NBA champion told People that General Insurance would become the NBA G League’s official sponsor. Shaq’s son, Shareef, plays for the G League’s Ignite.

“As part of the collaboration, The General and the G League are launching a docu-series titled The Break presented by The General, which will showcase stories and personalities from across the G League with a behind-the-scenes look at players’ path to the NBA,” People writes.