Newark native Shaquille O’Neal doled out a playful slap to pal Cory Booker’s backside Friday — while the mayor and senator-wannabe slapped around the media for hounding him about his stripper pal.
A grinning Shaq reached over with his massive right hand and landed one on Booker’s behind as the pol stood at a podium to trumpet One Riverview, the first high-rise to go up in beleaguered Newark in 50 years.
Booker picked up his shovel for the ceremonial first dirt-dig, then cracked to his cronies: “If you hit a reporter, I’ll give you five bucks. I’ve never been so tempted to throw dirt at the media.”
Booker’s remarks came on the heels of headlines that he had a Twitter flirtation with buxom Oregon stripper Lynsie Lee.
Booker declined to answer questions about his twitter exchanges with Lee, who was back working the pole at Portland jiggle joint Casa Diablo on Thursday night.
Wearing her skimpy, signature star-spangled bikini, Lee took a break from her shift at one point to chat to reporters.
“I did get kind of a crush on him, and so I tweeted him flirtatious things,” Lee said in a video posted at oregonlive.com. “But he never reciprocated the flirty-flirtiness.
“I’m not looking to upgrade my status like a Tan Mom or Octomom would. I don’t want money for my interviews,” Lee said.
“We both thought, you know, this is not a big deal. And it isn’t.”
Meanwhile, Booker was getting plenty of love from Shaq — a partner in the new, 23-story, 169-unit apartment tower — as the pair wisecracked and chatted up the new building.
“I was born in Newark, raised in Newark, did a lot of juvenile-delinquent activities in Newark,” O’Neal told the crowd. “I’d like to thank my Uncle Mike, who was a Newark cop. First time I stole candy, he was the first one to place me under arrest.
“My mother and father always taught me that if I became successful, to give back, so I wanted to do my part and help beautify Newark,” Shaq declared.
Endorsing Booker’s political aspirations, he said: “Thank you to Senator Booker, Mayor Booker, President Booker … whatever you do, I’m a vote for you.”