Former NFL star and current media personality Shannon Sharpe is currently facing a lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault, battery and engaging in intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Sharpe, who hosts the uberly popular Club Shay Shay podcast, and also fulfills drop-in appearances on ESPN’s First Take, was sued on Sunday in a lawsuit that was filed in Nevada. The plaintiff, who in the lawsuit was identified in the case under the alias “Jane Doe,” claims that Sharpe sexually assaulted her, and she’s seeking $50 million in damages. And all of this comes on the heels of rumors surrounding a potential $100 million contract coming Sharpe’s way.
The lawsuit suggested, among other things, that Shannon Sharpe got more and more aggressive as the two-year relationship went on:
“Sharpe flew into fits of anger when Plaintiff noted his infidelity to their relationship, or called him out about his extraneous activities. What had once been manipulation, control and intimidation now became something far more dangerous and sinister. Sharpe even figured out how to get into Doe’s apartment complex without her permission.”
That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Despite the serious allegations against Shannon Sharpe in the lawsuit, including claims of rape and threatening to kill the plaintiff, the media personality didn’t take long to respond to the civil complaint.
This afternoon, Sharpe released his own statement, which identified “Jane Doe” as Gabriella Zuniga, and combated the claims of sexual assault with text messages that were allegedly sent from Zuniga:
“The 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…
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.”
I know the font in that post is small, so below, I’ve included some of those text messages that Sharpe’s team are saying were sent by the accuser, Gabriella Zuniga:
“I want you to put a dog collar around my neck and choke me with it while you’re f**king me.”
“I know you miss this big juicy a**… $25K for each cheek.”
“I want to put my tongue in your a****le, and then marry you.”
“That’s my daddy, f**k, I want you to put a big black baby in me.”
“You better crave it cause you’re gonna be stuck with it for life after you put a big black baby in me.”
“Only if you put that baby gravy in me… then you can do whatever you want to me.”
Did those make you uncomfortable as you read through them? Because they were certainly uncomfortable to type out. Now I regret being nice and typing out the messages when I could have just let you (the reader) seek them out in the post themselves. But it’s all water under the bridge now.
And I’m sure Shannon Sharpe wishes this whole lawsuit could also be water under the bridge sooner rather than later, since he’s busy with his own podcast and various ESPN appearances. For now, he’ll add fighting this lawsuit to his already busy schedule, and based upon the closing of the official statement, Sharpe believes he’ll soon be exonerated:
“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 stand 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 judgement based on the facts and the law.”
Enjoy some of the wild commentary while you’re here:
Stay tuned…
