Hall of Fame football player Shannon Sharpe on Tuesday demanded that a 10-minute “sex tape” of himself be publicly disclosed, insisting he’s the target of a “shakedown” by a woman accusing him of rape in a civil lawsuit.
The former NFL star made the unusual request in an Instagram post two days after a woman who says she was in an “exclusive relationship” with Sharpe accused him of sexual abuse in a Nevada lawsuit.
The TV analyst and podcaster lashed out at both the Jane Doe accuser and her attorney, Tony Buzbee, who also represented several female massage therapists who accused quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexual assault. (Watson has strongly denied the allegations.)
“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.”
Sharpe and his lawyer have named the woman who filed this lawsuit. NBC News does not name sexual assault accusers unless they voluntarily identify themselves in public.
The suit seeks more than $50 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
“The encounter in question took place during the day at her invitation and now that appears to be a deliberate setup coordinated by (the plaintiff),” Sharpe said.
The former football great insists he did nothing wrong.
Sharpe pointed out that Buzbee once withdrew a lawsuit against Jay-Z.
“This is a shakedown,” Sharpe said. “I’m going to be open, transparent and defend myself, because this isn’t right. This is all being orchestrated by Tony Buzbee, who has targeted Jay-Z.”
The accuser said Sharpe was prone to angry outbursts and the plaintiff on Tuesday shared an audio recording of an argument they had on the phone.
In that recording, the accuser told Sharpe: “Don’t manipulate me.”
“If you say that one more time, I’m going to f—ing choke the s— out of you when I see you,” he responded.
Sharpe’s attorney, Lanny Davis, insisted it’s clear that the former player wasn’t being literal.
“I don’t have a confirmation from Mr. Sharpe himself or his attorneys about the authenticity of the tape, but we have no reason to dispute this is what Mr. Sharpe said,” Davis said.
“I do know that it was in the middle of an argument of this particular conversation and that he said it in the heat of the moment, and did not mean the words explicitly.”
Buzbee said his client will go forward with the lawsuit despite Sharpe’s pushback.
“Doxing and trying to humiliate or discredit Jane Doe won’t deter her from pursuing justice in court,” he said.
Jesse Kirsch
Austin Mullen and Andrew Blankstein contributed.
