NBA legend Shaquille O’ Neal was accused of battery. Walt Disney World Resort is a popular place and celebs often pay visit to the “The Most Magical Place on Earth.” It is home to four theme parks– Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom– as well as two water parks– Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park and Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park– and an epic shopping and dining district in Disney Springs.
Throughout the year, many celebrities are spotted visiting the Disney Parks. Most of the time, these visits result in nice photo ops and fun times for their families. However, one of the most notable stories of a celebrity ever visiting Walt Disney World Resort happened back in 1998 with a man who would go on to be an NBA legend: Shaquille O’Neal.
Shaquille O’Neal was involved in an altercation
With the Los Angeles Lakers at the time, a battery complaint was filed against the All-Star Center– who would go on to be an NBA Hall of Famer– for allegedly grabbing a woman by the neck at Disney’s now-defunct Pleasure Island.
O’Neal was playing the Lakers, but still had a home in Orlando from his previous stint with the Orlando Magic. This incident happened in October of 1998, right before the 1998-1999 season was set to begin.
The woman, at the time a 23-year-old Disney Cast Member named Kim Grant, filed the complaint and shared that O’Neal initiated conversations with her and said that he and his friends were “going looking for girls.” When she replied, “Be my Guest,” he allegedly put his hand around her neck and then said, “I was just playing, can’t you take a joke?”
Grant later dropped her complaint in November 1998, about a month after filing.
