True, some women do prefer being lied to

[theking]

"Y'all don't want honesty" - Shaquille O'Neal explains why women don't actually want their men to tell them the truth
They do not call Shaquille O'Neal the "Big Aristotle" for nothing. Although he's not a philosopher like the man he took the nickname from, the Los Angeles Lakers legend is a learned man who talks and reasons like one. When it comes to O'Neal, he's a guy who can discuss anything under the sun, whether it's  basketball, business, education, or even love life.

The latter is why Shaq is a favorite guest of social culture and lifestyle podcasts. He offers not only a unique perspective on relationships but also draws on his personal experiences, making him a very reliable resource. And so during his appearance on Natalie Friedman's "Nitty Gritty with Nat" podcast, O'Neal challenged Friedman when she said men in a relationship should have "open honest communication."

"Y'all don't want honesty," Shaq told Nat.

Of course, Natalie protested.

"Yes, we do…Why don't we want honesty?" she replied.

Shaq has two different answers to the question
Before Friedman could continue, O'Neal went on to explain his answer using a hypothetical question: "Ask me what I'm looking at right now?"

He said this is what the honest answer should be: "I know you're my girlfriend, but I'm looking at this fu—n beautiful black girl. She got her fu—n shit in a bun. This motherfu—r so fine. If I wasn't with her, I'd probably with you." That's honesty."

However, because women can't handle the truth, Shaq says men usually reply to the same question with this statement:

"I'm looking at a podcast crew. I'm here, you know at one of my friend's podcast."

O'Neal went on to explain that in the second answer, he's still talking about the same chick; it's just that he didn't specify whether the person he was talking about was a she, nor did he describe what she looked like.

"See that's the difference," O'Neal added. "Y'all say you want honesty. You don't want honesty. Cuz if I told you I'm looking at a girl, if I wasn't with you, I want to be with her. By the time I get to the crib, it's going to be World War III. Y'all don't want honesty. Y'all want to be protected. That's all you should say. Don't say you want honesty. Yet a lot of people can't handle the full truth."

Related: Spike Lee's voice message to Michael Jordan after the Knicks won the Finals: "We haven't talked in a minute"

O'Neal said men should not be 100 percent honest with women
Last year, the four-time NBA champion was a guest on Sarah Fontenot's "It's Giving" podcast, a show with vibes similar to Nat's program. In his discussion with Sarah, Shaq said that while men should not lie to their partners, they also should not tell them the 100 percent truth to protect their feelings.

"Let's just say we have a semi‑open relationship, right?" he explained. "And you call me. Do you want me to say, 'I'm with this freak, I'm gonna try to hit it, I'll call you back? That's honest or, 'Baby I'll call you back, I'm with a friend.'… She's a friend. If she's in my presence, she's sort of a friend. She's not my girlfriend, she's sort of a friend."

"So you say you want honesty, if you can handle it - yeah. But if you can't handle it, sometimes you have to protect them. You have to protect the feelings. I'm with a friend, that's not a lie," he added.

With his wealth and stature, it's hard to understand why Shaq is single. Sure, you can argue that two failed serious relationships may have scarred him for life. And maybe he is enjoying the fact that he doesn't have any commitment.

However, when you look at O'Neal's relationship principles, they make sense but are complex, too. It's hard to see a relationship last with his mindset. You can just base it on the reaction of the women hosts in both podcasts mentioned.