Umar Johnson says he is going to stand by Shannon Sharpe despite being accused of the "unspeakable" on one condition 

Podcaster and former American football tight end, Shannon Sharpe, was recently accused of multiple instances of s*xual battery and assault in a lawsuit filed on April 20, 2025. An anonymous plaintiff filed the lawsuit, garnering a lot of reactions from netizens as well as from activist and motivational speaker Umar Johnson.

Johnson offered support to the former NFL player via an X video posted by @onlydubsX on April 23, 2025. Johnson said:

"Shannon Sharpe, I'm gonna stand with you, my brother, on one condition. I'm getting text messages from all over the African universe telling me that Shannon Sharpe was accused of the unspeakable... I'm gonna stand with Uncle Shay Shay on one condition. Uncle Shay Shay no more snow bunnies after this scandal."

Umar Johnson asked Shannon Sharpe to promise him that he wouldn't seek the company of snow bunnies, allegedly referring to white women.

The activist added that he thinks the accusations against the podcaster are a "scam". He also asked netizens to tell him the ethnicity of Sharpe's accuser and emphasized on standing by Sharpe, saying he doesn't like it when "Black men get taken down".

While there is no prominent relationship between Shannon Sharpe and Umar Johnson, the activist challenged Sharpe to a debate in 2022 and called him a "snowbunny fraternity member" at the time. Umar Johnson also claimed that the former NFL player had negativity against Black people who opposed interracial marriage.

Responding to Umar Johnson's comments, Sharpe took to X on May 28, 2022, stating that he didn't care about what the activist or other people thought of his dating life. Adding that he wasn't harming anyone or taking money from them, the former footballer asked Umar Johnson to stay away from his timeline.

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What are the allegations against Shannon Sharpe?

In the civil lawsuit filed against Shannon Sharpe on April 20, 2025, a Jane Doe claimed that she was r*ped and threatened by the podcaster during a "rocky consensual relationship". As per details of the court documents reported by AP News on April 22, 2025, the plaintiff sought $50 million in damages in the lawsuit, further accusing the former NFL player of inflicting emotional stress and using physical force on her.

According to the same publication, the plaintiff first met the podcaster in 2023 at a gym in Los Angeles. At the time, Jane Doe was 20 years old, and her relationship with Sharpe lasted for 2 years. The woman accused Sharpe of r*ping her in October 2024 and in January 2025.

An excerpt from Jane Doe's lawsuit read:

“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 r*ped Plaintiff, despite her sobbing and repeated screams of ‘no.’”

However, Shannon Sharpe dismissed Jane Doe's claims via a video posted on X on April 22, 2025, wherein he dubbed the lawsuit as "a shakedown". Turning the narrative around at Jane Doe's attorney, Tony Buzbee, Shape said:

“This is all being orchestrated by Tony Buzbee, who is targeting Jay Z. Tony Buzbee targets Black men and I believe he is going to release a 30-second clip of a s*x tape to try to make me look guilty and play into every stereotype you can possible imagine.”

For the unversed, Buzbee has also filed lawsuits against Jay-Z and Diddy. He has been representing clients with accusations of assault against renowned names in the industry.

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As per CNN's report dated April 22, 2025, Tony Buzbee refused to comment when asked if his client had contacted the police during or after the reported assaults by Sharpe. Buzbee acknowledged the courage it takes for someone to stand up against powerful people like Sharpe and added that he looks forward to pressing the case in court.