Steve Harvey Blocks Sherri Shepherd, Shaquille O’Neal PDA

Steve Harvey put a stop to a cuddly moment between two celebrity contestants, and it’s cracking up fans.

Though Family Feud‘s “spicy” questions are too much for pearl-clutching viewers, some flirty moments are all about the guests.

On a recent episode of Celebrity Family Feud, Sherri Shepherd faced off against Shaquille O’Neal.

It fell to host Steve Harvey to play the “blocker” and separate them before a lingering hug turned into PDA.

Steve Harvey had to interrupt some ‘Celebrity Family Feud’ flirting

During a recent holiday special of Celebrity Family Feud, actress and talk show host Sherri Shepherd and her team faced off against sports legend Shaquille O’Neal.

As usual, Steve Harvey called the two to the podium, like opposing attorneys approaching the bench in court.

However, instead of getting to survey them right away, he had to wait. Sherri saw her chance and took it, going in for a hug.

At first, Sherri merely asked if she could shake hands with Shaq. Steve had no issue with that.

Sherri ended up embracing the NBA legend in a hug. Their height difference made this somewhat comical, as Sherri is only 5-foot-1 and Shaquille is a 7-foot-1. They represent extremes of the adult human height spectrum.

Additionally, Sherri was clearly savoring the moment. Her eyes closed, her face a mask of focused peace as if she were on a mattress commercial. Truly, living her best life.

But Steve Harvey had to keep everyone on track

“Hey, hey, hey, hey — we got a game to play. Sherri, Sherri,” Steve told her.

As if jolted out of a blissful dream, Sherri darted back to her side of the podium.

A prolonged hug can sometimes be a deeply awkward moment. However, Shaq was clearly in good humor.

“Can I say one thing?” Shaq then asked Steve Harvey. “Once you go Shaq, you never go back. Be careful,” he joked, reciprocating Sherri’s flirtatious energy with his own.

“Once you go with Sherri, you gonna feel like the Tooth Fairy,” Sherri Shepherd replied.

That was more than enough for Steve, who reminded the two that he had a “little thing to do called a game.”

This is not the first time that Sherri and Shaq have flirted

As you can see in the clip above, Shaquille O’Neal and Sherri Shepherd have exchanged thirst back and forth over the years.

Honestly, knowing this may put some minds at ease. No one was harassing anyone, because this is part of their banter. It was also very tasteful, which makes sense. They are both professionals, rather than nervous first-time-on-camera contestants on the non-Celebrity iteration of Family Feud.

Steve Harvey had his work cut out with these two. But fans were eating it up — and cheering for Sherri.