Sara Haines Couldn’t Stop Flirting With Shaquille O’Neal On ‘The View’: “You Almost Got Me In Trouble”

The View let loose in its final segment of the day, welcoming NBA alum and Lucky 13 host Shaquille O’Neal to the Hot Topics table this morning. While he made an appearance to promote his new game show, Shaq spent most of his time bantering with the ladies, who were immediately charmed by him.

Whoopi Goldberg kicked off the segment by explaining why there were bowls of candy scattered amongst the co-hosts and their guest.

(Editor’s Note: The View is currently on hiatus; contrary to what you may have heard, The View was not canceled today. This article was originally published on July 17, 2024 when this episode first aired. The View will return with new episodes in September.)

“Now I hear you have brought something that I appreciate very much. A sweet and Shaq-ilicious treat?” Goldberg asked, as Shaq confirmed, “Yes.” But Sara Haines couldn’t resist slipping in a joke of her own, saying, “And he brought candy!” with an exaggerated hand gesture.

Her comment didn’t quite land at the table, but Alyssa Farah Griffin was amused, breaking into laughter that Haines seemed to appreciate.

Shaq moved right on to promoting his new candy line with Hershey’s, which features gummy candy modeled in the shape of his face.

When Haines asked, “It is your face?” and Shaq confirmed, “Yes, it is my face,” she held one of the gummies up and told the audience, “You will be nibbling on his face. So if you’ve ever wanted to do that…” as she grinned right at her guest.

Shaq let out a laugh, then bowed his head to the table and jokingly shook his finger at Haines, who was delighted by his amused reaction.

When Sunny Hostin told him, “See what she did there?” Shaq replied, “You almost got me in trouble.”

But he wasn’t feeling too shy later in the episode. As Haines rattled off his list of accomplishments (including “candy model”), Shaq told her very seriously, “You forgot one. Sex symbol.”

As the audience whooped and cheered, he posed for the camera and adjusted his suit jacket while raising his eyebrows and sucking in his cheeks.

Haines reassured him, “That goes without mentioning! We all know that.”

Joy Behar, referring to Haines’ earlier admission that she once got pedicures with the basketball pro, quipped, “Now we know what those pedicures are about!” to which Haines replied, “I’m telling you, from top to bottom, he takes care of it.”

That one didn’t slip past the audience, who let out an audible, low “Ooooooh” that seemed to catch Haines by surprise. Even Goldberg gave her a look, while poor Griffin could be seen covering her face with her hands at the other end of the table.

Somehow, the segment only got more goofy, despite Haines’ attempt to shift the chat back to Lucky 13. When she asked Shaq how game show hosting is going for him, she began to mention something “Shaq-sized” featured in Lucky 13, which only made things worse. Haines, who was laughing too hard to keep speaking, managed to put a thumbs up in the air as Goldberg clarified that the show features “Shaq-sized” jackpots.

Hey, at least we got there eventually.

The View airs weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.