Shannon Sharpe made no mention of the outstanding rape allegations against him during his Monday night podcast, nor will he discuss her $50 million lawsuit on ESPN’s Tuesday morning episode of First Take.
As reported by The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, Sharpe planned to make his regularly scheduled appearance alongside Stephen A. Smith without addressing the ongoing lawsuit filed against him in Nevada this week. He was on the air with Smith on Monday when news of the filing first broke.
The 56-year-old Sharpe is denying the rape accusations made by his 20-something ex-girlfriend and has countered with his own claim that she is trying to score a major financial settlement from a consensual relationship.
Sharpe’s attorney named the accuser in Monday’s statement that also included several sexually explicit text messages she allegedly sent to the popular media personality. Sharpe’s accuser is referred to only as ‘Jane Doe’ in the Nevada lawsuit obtained by DailyMail.com.
In the absence of any on-air discussion about the accusations, Sharpe’s fan base has overwhelmingly rallied in support of the man they call ‘Unc.’
‘I’m riding with Unc,’ one fan wrote on Sharpe’s popular YouTube channel.
Shannon Sharpe returned to one of his popular podcasts without mentioning the lawsuit
Shannon Sharpe attends ESPN First Take at Clark Atlanta University on November 8
‘WE WITH YOU UNC,’ another added.
One woman claimed Sharpe ‘legally can’t talk’ about the lawsuit. And while that’s not exactly true, she still felt confident offering advice to the host of Club Shay Shay and Nightcap. ‘Please protect your brand yourself and family.’
The chorus of support comes less than 24 hours after Sharpe’s attorney Lanny J. Davis released the name of the accuser, along with some text messages they claim were sent by her to the Denver Broncos legend.
‘i want you to put a dog collar around my neck and choke me with it while ur f***ing me,’ read one of the messages purportedly sent to Sharpe by his 20-something ex-girlfriend and accuser.
‘I know u miss this big juicy a**,’ she allegedly wrote in another message to Sharpe. ‘$25k for each cheek.’
Davis is also accusing the plaintiff of secretly recording a ‘consensual’ sexual encounter with the intention of editing and misrepresenting it for use in her case against the podcaster and ESPN personality.
‘This lawsuit, filed by [Jane Doe] and orchestrated by her attorney Tony Buzbee, is a blatant and cynical attempt to shake down Mr. Sharpe for millions of dollars,’ read the statement from Davis. ‘It is filled with lies, distortions, and misrepresentations — and it will not succeed.
‘In her effort to extract a large financial settlement, [Jane Doe] presented Mr. Sharpe with a secretly recorded video of a consensual sexual encounter,’ the statement continues. ‘We believe the video has been heavily edited and taken entirely out of context, crafted to falsely portray a consensual act as non-consensual. [Jane Doe] has refused to provide a copy of the full, unedited version of the recording to Mr. Sharpe’s legal team.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to Buzbee, the accuser’s attorney, for comment.
Sharpe and his attorney have released the name of the ex-girlfriend accusing him of rape in a Nevada lawsuit, as well sexually explicit texts she allegedly sent to him – which include the messages above
Jane Doe is claiming the legendary NFL tight end raped her in 2024 and 2025, according to a court filing obtained by DailyMail.com. TMZ was the first to report the lawsuit.
The accuser claims she was abused by Sharpe over their year-long relationship. She also says it was another woman, and not her, who was caught having sex with Sharpe when the Pro Football Hall of Famer accidentally streamed live audio of the encounter on social media in September.
Sharpe is first accused of raping Jane Doe the following month, allegedly forcing himself on her as she ‘was crying and sobbing.’ He allegedly raped her again in January after arriving at her home with promises of Christmas and birthday gifts.
‘The lawsuit filed under the pseudonym ”Jane Doe” lays out a pattern of intimidation, manipulation, and abuse, including allegations that Sharpe repeatedly threatened to choke and slap Jane Doe,’ read a statement from Buzbee.
Bayless (left) and Sharpe, pictured in 2016, had a very public fallout on their Undisputed show
Davis’ firm released several explicit text messages, purportedly sent to Sharpe by his accuser.
‘To set the record straight, we are releasing several of [Jane Doe’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,’ read the statement from Davis.
‘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.
The shocking purported exchanges between Sharpe and his accuser date back to November of 2023.
‘Only if you put that baby gravy in me, then I can do whatever I want to me,’ read one message Jane Doe allegedly sent to Sharpe.
‘I wanna put my tongue in you’re a**hole and then marry u,’ read another message.
Two of the alleged texts from Jane Doe to Sharpe included her request that he ‘put a big black baby in me.’
Sharpe with another of his former ex-girlfriends, fitness trainer Katy Kellner, in February 2012
The couple met in 2023 when she was 20 and he was in his mid-50s, according to the filing. The woman claims Sharpe told her he would ‘buy her fake t**s’ if she won a weight-loss competition with him. From there, she claims, Sharpe pursued her vigorously, calling, texting and ‘demanding she come to his Beverly Glen mansion.’
Curiously, Sharpe demanded she sign a non-disclosure agreement when their relationship began, only to drop that request when she repeatedly refused.
‘… Sharpe made another demand—she had to sign a non-disclosure agreement, an ”NDA,”’ reads the filing obtained by DailyMail.com. ‘He refused to explain why and would not let her see a copy of the proposed agreement. He simply insisted she sign one. Plaintiff refused. After multiple attempts, when he realized she would not cooperate, he finally dropped the issue.’
Jane Doe describes their relationship as consensual, but claims he ‘demanded complete control over her time and body.’ Often he was ‘expecting her to be at his house on his schedule, at his command, whenever he called,’ according to the filing.
She became particularly fearful of Sharpe during an argument during which there was a handgun visible in the room.
‘Plaintiff tried sharing her location with friends from her iPhone — just in case,’ the filings state. ‘But Sharpe saw her doing this. The moment he realized what she was doing, he grabbed her by the neck and told her, ”If you ever do that again, I will f***ing kill you.”’
A popular podcast host and ESPN personality, Sharpe is rumored to be in line for a massive new deal.
Front Office Sports is reporting that Sharpe has received multiple offers as his current media deal with Colin Cowherd’s platform, The Volume, is set to expire. Furthermore, sources tell FSO Sharpe’s next deal is expected to exceed $100 million, which happens to be the reported amount Smith got in his recent contract negotiations with ESPN.
That might come as a surprise, but Sharpe does have a massive audience. A recent interview with comedian Katt Williamson hit nearly 90 million views and Club Shay Shay currently boasts around 4 million subscribers, making it among the most popular podcasts in sports and entertainment.
Regardless of whether Sharpe’s next deal surpasses $100 million in total value, it will assuredly exceed the $22 million he made over 14 NFL seasons with the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens.
It’s unclear if Sharpe’s next podcast deal will impact his guest spots on ESPN. Sharpe’s agent could not be reached for comment.
