The sexual assault lawsuit against Shannon Sharpe has taken astounding turns in the last hour.
On Tuesday morning, Sharpe’s accuser released audio to TMZ among others that alleged to show the ESPN First Take co-host and podcast star that painted him in an unflattering light. The audio recording featured Sharpe saying “Lord have mercy. If you say that word one more time, I will f*cking choke the sh*t out of you when I see you.”
The audio was released while Sharpe was on the air on First Take. And a short time after the show went off the air, Shannon Sharpe appeared in a video released to his social media that called it a “shakedown.”
In what was clearly scripted comments that appear to have been planned for before the publication of the audio, Sharpe claims it is part of a much longer sex tape and has been manipulated to portray him in a negative light.
In particular, he blames lawyer Tony Busbee as the orchestrator behind it in an attempt to target another high profile Black man. Sharpe also says that he plans to file a defamation suit.
Sharpe’s comments are below in full:
“To my family, friends, supporters, and colleagues, I want to speak to you directly and from the heart,” Sharpe said. This is a shakedown. I’m going to be open, transparent, and defend myself because this isn’t right. This is all being orchestrated by Tony Busbee, who has targeted Jay-Z. Tony Busbee targets Black men and I believe he’s going to release a 30 second clip of a sex tape that tries to make me look guilty and plays into every stereotype you can possibly imagine.”
“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. You know what happened and you’re trying to manipulate the media. The encounter in question took place during the day at her invitation and now that appears to be a deliberate setup coordinated by Gabby, also known as Carly on OnlyFans. Gabby and Tony Busbee want $50 million. What they’re getting is sued for defamation and trying to take me down,” Sharpe continued.
“My career is all about real talk and honesty. I know my family and fans know exactly what this is about. And I’m going to be out there telling you whatever I need to say, just like I always do. I love all of you guys. Thanks,” Sharpe concluded.
This case has taken a very ugly turn and it is shocking to see it play out in public to such a degree. Given what we have seen from both sides, this is likely not the end any time soon. And as Shannon Sharpe indicated, in all likelihood the next step may be a countersuit from him against Jane Doe and conceivably Tony Busbee for defamation. Busbee’s name might sound familiar to sports fans as the lawyer that represented many clients who accused DeShaun Watson of sexual misconduct. Most of those cases resulted in confidential settlements.
Sharpe’s lawyer Lanny Davis is planning a 2 p.m. ET press conference that will likely provide more insights from the ESPN star’s perspective.
Awful Announcing reached out to comment from ESPN regarding the audio release and we will provide that as an update if a statement from the network is released.