Shaquille O’Neal Says He Doesn’t Consider Himself A “Celebrity”

Basketball star Shaquille O’Neal claimed he doesn’t consider himself a “celebrity” despite being a household name. In an April 12 exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Shaq said that he refuses

to claim the celebrity label. He made the decision over thirty years ago after coming to the revelation that most of them are “a-holes.”

The former NBA star began, “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.”

Shaq continued to decide that he would much rather be a “regular person” so he didn’t have to be associated with the category of people. He told PEOPLE,  “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.”

The 51-year-old New Jersey native admitted that his opinions cause him to be cautious about who he chooses to work with in his business ventures. He gave the example of the internet meme-made celebrity Bad Luck Brian as being an example of the type of person he likes to work with. After starring in a General Insurance commercial alongside the guy, he told the outlet that he’s “very nice.”

Shaq described, “I don’t like to work with celebrities because celebrities are crazy, so I just like to work with people. He was a very nice guy. 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.” 

The former NBA player also told PEOPLE exciting news about General Insurance moving up to be NBA G League’s official sponsor; his son Shareef plays for Ignite – a team in the G League.