The ‘Inside the NBA’ crew took a hilarious swipe at Jay-Z this week amid the hip-hop mogul’s rape allegations.

Jay-z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, has been named in a lawsuit in which a Jane Doe has made claims of him raping her along with Sean “Diddy” Combs when she was 13.

The 55-year-old issued a quick denial, suggesting he would fight tooth and nail to defend his reputation. Of course, this has done little to slow the speculation, and some folks are having fun with it.

 
Inside the NBA (Photo via TNT)
The likes of Shaquille O’Neal, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley got in on the act somewhat after Kenny brought up the rapper’s name while trying to explain why he would not take up a challenge from a random person.

It appears the former NBA point guard was challenged to some sort of basketball contest, and he was about to claim Jay-Z would not go around battling random people on the street before Barkley tapped him on the arm and told him it was “probably not a good time.”

The reminder caused both Shaq and Ernie to walk off before Kenny decided it would be better to use Kendrick Lamar as an example instead.

Check it out in the video below:

“Ernie and shaq having the same reaction is hilarious😂,” a fan wrote in the comments.

Jay-Z Alleges Blackmail

As mentioned above, the rapper has denied the allegations. He put out a statement via the Roc Nation account on X in which he suggested he was being blackmailed and would not be settling and challenged the alleged victim’s attorney to pursue the matter criminally.

“My lawyer received a blackmail attempt, called a demand letter, from a “lawyer” named Tony Buzbee,” he wrote. “What he had calculated was the nature of these allegations and the public scrutiny would make me want to settle.

“No sir, it had the opposite effect! It made me want to expose you for the fraud you are in a VERY public fashion. So no, I will not give you ONE RED PENNY!! These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!! Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree?”