Shannon Sharpe is finally speaking out publicly himself about the $50 million rape lawsuit filed against him Sunday (April 20). He took to his X account earlier this afternoon and shared a video of him talking to the camera from his home. If you tuned into First Take today, you'll notice he recorded this in the same suit he wore on the program.
Speaking of which, he has been on the ESPN show both days. Clearly, he feels that this is a "shakedown" and nothing more. The lawyer that's going to be representing Shannon Sharpe in the Nevada courtroom, Lanny J. Davis, echoed his client's message yesterday in his address on the matter.
"[It] is a blatant and cynical attempt to shake down Mr. Sharpe for millions of dollars. It is filled with lies, distortions, and misrepresentations - and it will not succeed," he said in part. But as for the sports analyst's own video, he had some pointed words for Tony Buzbee.
Shannon Sharpe Sued For Rape
He's going to be making the case for Gabriella Zuniga, who claims Shannon Sharpe was very abusive in their relationship. She claims they first met a gym in 2023 and things were "consensual." However, on two occasions --one in October 2024 and one in January 2025-- his behavior was extremely aggressive.
She alleges he threatened to "kill" her after he allegedly caught her sharing her location with friends. Then, when she had plans to end things, that's when he allegedly raped her. Overall, Sharpe swears that he's going to be "open, transparent, and defend myself because this isn't right."
That's when he began to tear into Tony Buzbee and Gabriella, who Sharpe says goes by "Carly on OnlyFans." As for the former, he reminded everyone how he "targeted Jay-Z" in the controversial sexual assault case that was eventually dropped. Sharpe then goes on to reveal that Tony is going to release a 30-second clip of a sex tape that is actually 10 minutes.
He says this encounter happened during the daytime and was initiated by Zuniga. This is potentially the same video that Sharpe's lawyer referred to in his response yesterday. He labeled it as "blackmail" and that it was "heavily edited and taken entirely out of context."
Before signing off and thanking his fans, family, colleagues and more for sticking by him, Shannon Sharpe left a threat out on the table for Buzbee. "Gabby and Tony Buzbee want $50 million. What they're getting is sued for defamation and trying to take me down."
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