Newark native Shaquille O'Neal is distancing himself from controversial comments that appeared on his Facebook page and personal blog, claiming that the company he hired to run his websites wrote an unauthorized post suggesting that the 9/11 attacks were an inside job.

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Shaq is a 9/11 truther ... and fans rip him for it on Facebook

After the comments angered fans on Facebook, O'Neal released a statement denying ever being a 9/11 truther. According to O'Neal's version of events, an employee from Digital Mavericks, a firm he contracted to manage his social media content, authored the post without his knowledge.

Here's the official statement from Shaq:

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