Fans demand refunds after Shaquille O’Neal meet and greet walk out

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal charged fans up to $650 a ticket for an exclusive meet and greet. But more than half never got in the same room as him, now they want refunds.

Australian basketball fans have been left seething after paying hundreds of dollars for a meet and greet experience with NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, only to be locked out of the venue.

The four-time NBA champion is in Australia this week on a speaking tour and the sold-out fan experience at Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena on Thursday night was to be the headline act of Shaq’s trip Down Under.

A beloved basketball figure who transitioned seamlessly from one of the NBA’s all-time greatest players to a respected analyst and media personality, Shaq boasts millions of fans around the world and Aussies queued for hours to meet their idol on Thursday.

Instead the meet and greet event, hosted by The Hour Group, quickly soured when doors were closed to fans who had paid up to $650 for tickets only for many to not even make it inside the venue.

Twitter erupted in a firestorm of angry backlash, largely directed not at Shaq but the event organisers.

No meet n greet. It was gutless that they made the venue staff send us all home.
You and I can both say that we have been to some poorly managed events in our day but these guys should be called The Amateur Hour Group.

— Brent “BK” Kerr (@agentsonar) August 25, 2022

Yes, my brother, his girlfriend and myself are absolutely heartbroken that we paid for meet and greet tickets only to be told it’s over and he’s left the building when it was so close to being our turn. That was probably our one chance in this lifetime to meet the great man @SHAQ

— Caitlin Jenner (@caitlinljenner) August 25, 2022

Supposed to meet @SHAQ tonight as part of a prize for 14 year old son who raised almost $3000 for charity. But the meet and greet line was so incredibly long that they cut it off and most people missed out. Fair to say the kid is pretty disappointed ☹️

— Beth Davis (@bethdavis10) August 25, 2022

One fan said she spent “over $700 on tickets” to see Shaq only for the venue to “close the meet and greet before over half the fans get to actually meet him”.

“Shaq’s whole theme of the talk was ‘doing it for the fans’ and always taking photos lol. Looking forward to getting that refund.”

“I was there and spoke to security about what happened. Shaqs security team was appalled by the terrible security and organisation of the meet and greet. Several people pushing in especially without wristbands etc. They had enough and shut the door. Blame security.”

Our team will be issuing refund instructions very soon. pic.twitter.com/raQMsyVL7G

— The Hour Group AU & NZ (@thehourgroupau) August 26, 2022

With fans demanding refunds and please explains, News Corp has reached out to representatives for The Hour Group about Thursday night’s event.

While promoters are currently in transit to Sydney where Shaq will host his next event at The Star on Friday night, they have confirmed they’re aware of the issues in Melbourne and have requested fans who were impacted by the missed opportunity to contact them at [e-mail].