Well, that’s awkward.
Given that Gabriella Zuniga is not exactly a common name, I’m kind of surprised to see this play out, but at the same time, as soon as I searched “Gabriella Zuniga” on Instagram, this woman’s account was the first one that came up. And then when I Googled her name, this poor girl’s photo came up in articles, shared by publications who did zero research. So… we’re gonna help set the record straight.
Over the weekend a “Jane Doe” filed a $50 million lawsuit against the former NFL star and current media personality, Shannon Sharpe, accusing him of sexual assault and rape. Sharpe quickly responded to this lawsuit, publicly naming the woman as Gabriella Zuniga, with whom he allegedly had a two-year relationship.
After naming the woman in the case, media outlets began searching for her on social media and adding a photo of her when publishing articles related to the case. Given that both sides are publicly criticizing each other, and the case is becoming increasingly messy by the day, this is a necessary step.
However, some media outlets have made a mistake, associating a picture of the wrong Gabriella Zuniga with the case. A Canadian woman sharing the same name as the “Jane Doe” has come forward asking people to stop associating her with this case.
“Hey guys, I’m just coming on here to address this whole scandal. Because of my name, I’ve been associated with Shannon Sharpe’s lawsuit, which I am not associated with and not involved with.
You’ve probably seen this photo being used by multiple social media platforms saying that I am the girl with his $50 million lawsuit. I am, in fact, NOT the girl. Thank you to anyone who has come on and showed me any support in this whole entire mess. But I’m just really hoping that this is all over soon.”
Zuniga shared in a TikTok post.
@gabriellazuniga @Shannon Sharpe #shannonsharpe ♬ original sound – GABRIELLA ZUNIGA
On her Instagram bio, she also has a statement that she’s not the same Zuniga from Sharpe’s legal battle.
“I’m not associated with Shannon Sharpe, I’m from Canada!”
Poor girl.
This whole lawsuit is so messy, with Sharpe releasing extremely graphic text messages that his accuser allegedly sent him. Sharpe’s team detailed the following messages sent from 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.”
I can’t blame the girl for clearing her name, I’d be MORTIFIED if my name was associated with messages like this.
TikTok viewers quickly began responding to her TikTok video, offering Gabriella advice to seek legal action against the media outlets that had used her image in connection with Sharpe’s case. She did not respond back to any messages so it sounds like she would just like to be left alone. Her Instagram was briefly private yesterday, and as of right now, she has eliminated the ability to comment on her posts… for good reason.
So if you see images of this woman, know it is NOT the woman suing Shannon Sharpe…. do your best to shut down any rumors or speculation of you see it.
And if you’re interested… here’s Shannon Sharpe’s Gabriella, AKA “Karli” on Only Fans:
