Shannon Sharpe is forcefully denying explosive allegations made against him in a $50 million lawsuit filed by a woman who claims she was repeatedly raped by the former NFL star and media personality.
Filed by a woman identified as Jane Doe in Nevada on Sunday, the lawsuit accuses Sharpe of multiple instances of sexual assault between late 2024 and early 2025.
The woman alleges the assaults occurred during what she describes as a years-long abusive relationship with the Club Shay Shay host.
In response, Sharpe’s attorney, Lanny J. Davis, issued a scathing statement, declaring the accusations to be “categorically false” and describing the lawsuit as an “egregious blackmail attempt.”
“Mr. Sharpe will vigorously defend himself and is confident the truth will prevail,” Davis stated. “This lawsuit is nothing more than a malicious attempt to tarnish his reputation and extort money through outrageous and completely unfounded claims.”
Sharpe, known for his outspoken personality and sports commentary, has not yet made a personal statement. However, sources close to the situation affirm that he is “fully cooperating with legal counsel” and preparing a countersuit.
As the story develops, public attention is sharply focused on how both legal teams will proceed and whether any further evidence or statements will surface.
Statement by Lanny J. Davis, Counsel to Shannon Sharpe
“I want you to put a dog collar around my neck and choke me with it while you’re f*cking me.”
Gabriella Zuniga in a text message to Shannon Sharpe, October 7,
2023
“I know u miss this big juicy a**…$25k for each cheek.”
–Gabriella Zuniga in a text message to Shannon Sharpe 1/1/2025, 9:50:19 PM(UTC-8)
This lawsuit, filed by Gabriella Zuniga and orchestrated by her attorney Tony Buzbee, is a blatant and cynical attempt to shake down Mr. Sharpe for millions of dollars. It is filled with lies, distortions, and misrepresentations – and it will not succeed.
In her effort to extract a large financial settlement, Ms. Zuniga presented Mr. Sharpe with a secretly recorded video of a consensual sexual encounter. We believe the video has been heavily edited and taken entirely out of context, crafted to falsely portray a consensual act as non-consensual. Ms. Zuniga has refused to provide a copy of the full, unedited version of the recording to Mr. Sharpe’s legal team.
To set the record straight, we are releasing several of Ms. Zuniga’s own explicit text messages to Mr. Sharpe that clearly indicate the nature of their relationship was consensual and sexual in nature — and, in many cases, initiated by her with specific and graphic requests. Contrary to the allegations she makes in her lawsuit, consensual sex continued until January 2, 2025 – the day after she asked for “$25,000 per cheek,” as quoted above from her text message to Mr. Sharpe. There are other examples of texts from Ms. Zuniga. For example:
“”Only if you put that baby gravy in me, then I can do whatever I want to me.”
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Text from Gabriella Zuniga to Shannon Sharpe, November 23, 2023 “I wanna put my tongue in your a**hole and then marry u.”
Text from Gabriella Zuniga to Shannon Sharpe, January 12, 2024 “That’s my daddy f*ck I want u to put a big black baby in me.”
– Text from Gabriella Zuniga to Shannon Sharpe, August 6, 2024 “You better crave it cuz ur gonna be stuck with it 4 life after you put a big black baby in me.”
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Text from Gabriella Zuniga to Shannon Sharpe, August 11, 2024 These messages are just a sampling of a broader pattern of graphic, sexual communications initiated by Ms. Zuniga. The evidence paints a clear picture: this was a consensual, adult relationship that included role-playing, sexual language, and fantasy scenarios explicitly requested by Ms. Zuniga.
The edited tape that Ms. Zuniga secretly taped and showed to Mr. Sharpe during her blackmail attempt tries to falsely portray, as a result of this editing and out of context from prior text messages, that the sexual activity was not consensual. But Mr. Sharpe now believes her secret taping was all part of her planned set-up as part of her blackmail scheme, as distorted by her edited tape, a copy of which she refused to make available to Mr. Sharpe or his counsel.
Mr. Sharpe categorically denies all allegations of coercion or
misconduct – especially the gross lie of “rape” — and will not submit to what he sees as an egregious attempt at blackmail. He stands firmly by the truth and is prepared to fight these false claims vigorously in court. He looks forward to vindication through due process and a judgment based on the facts and the law.”
