Shannon Sharpe, a three-time Super Bowl champion, NFL Hall of Famer, and host of the wildly popular Club Shay Shay podcast, has been hit with a bombshell sexual assault lawsuit in Nevada. The lawsuit, filed by a woman who was 19 when she first met Sharpe in 2023, alleges that the former football star used his celebrity status to “manipulate, control, subjugate, and violate women.”
The Lawsuit Details Alleged Two-Year Abusive Relationship
According to court documents, the accuser claims she had a “rocky consensual relationship” with Sharpe, now 56, after meeting him at a Los Angeles gym. However, she alleges that the relationship turned violent, with Sharpe becoming “aggressive” and ultimately raping her despite her protests.
The complaint states: “After many months of manipulating and controlling Plaintiff—a woman more than thirty years younger than he—and repeatedly threatening to brutally choke and violently slap her, Sharpe refused to accept the answer no and raped Plaintiff, despite her sobbing and repeated screams of ‘no.'”
The woman further alleges that Sharpe recorded sexual encounters without her consent and shared the videos with his “friends and associates.” She claims the most recent assault occurred in January 2024.
Sharpe, who boasts 4 million subscribers on his Club Shay Shay podcast and is reportedly negotiating a $100 million deal for his media network, vehemently denies the accusations. In a video posted to Instagram, he called the lawsuit a “shakedown” and vowed to fight the claims.
“This is a shakedown,”Sharpe declared. “I’m going to be open, transparent, and defend myself, because this isn’t right.”
Sharpe’s Reaction and Threat of Defamation Suit
Sharpe targeted the accuser’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, known for high-profile cases including lawsuits against Jay-Z and Deshaun Watson, accusing him of filing a fraudulent lawsuit.
“I believe he’s going to release a 30-second clip of a sex tape that tries to make me look guilty and play into every stereotype you could possibly imagine,” Sharpe said. “That video should actually be 10 minutes or so. Hey, Tony, instead of releasing your edit, put the whole video out. I don’t have it, or I would myself.”
This isn’t the first time Sharpe has faced scrutiny over his private conduct. In 2023, he accidentally livestreamed an intimate encounter on Instagram, later apologizing and claiming he mistakenly activated the “Live” feature.
Meanwhile, with Sharpe gearing up to make a deal for a massive $100 million media contract, the lawsuit could have significant repercussions on his broadcasting career and podcast empire. The suit seeks $50 million in damages, including compensatory and punitive damages, though no other accusers have come forward.
