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On April 20, 2025, Shannon Sharpe was allegedly accused of r*pe and s*xual assault. According to Lanny Davis, Sharpe's attorney, the NFL star was attempting to settle the case by offering the plaintiff $10 million. The plaintiff refused and filed a lawsuit seeking $50 million in damages.
Social media personality Melanie King uploaded an audio clip on her X handle on April 24, 2025, that allegedly featured Lanny Davis revealing details about Shannon Sharpe's settlement offer.
"There was a settlement offer made by Mr. Sharpe. I will only generally say to you that it was in the tens of millions of dollars demanded by the plaintiff in return for her silence. Under any definition commonly understood, that is blackmail. And Mr. Sharpe was willing to pay an amount in the tens of millions of dollars, but no final agreement could be reached."
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More about the allegations against Shannon Sharpe
According to the BBC, on Sunday, a 22-year-old Nevada woman filed a lawsuit against Shannon Sharpe (56), accusing him of r*pe and s*xual assault. The plaintiff, who referred to herself as Jane Doe, alleged that the couple had engaged in a nearly two-year "rocky consensual relationship" which began when the plaintiff was 19.
The complaint alleged that Sharpe used his fame to "manipulate, control, subjugate and violate women". It further stated,
"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,'"
The plaintiff alleged that his most recent assault took place in January 2025. She also claimed that he recorded some of their s*xual encounters without her express consent and shared them with his friends.
As per the New York Post, the plaintiff's attorney, Tony Buzbee, released an audio clip that purportedly featured a phone conversation between Shannon Sharpe and Jane Doe. The clip highlighted a man (allegedly Sharpe) telling a woman (allegedly the plaintiff) that he would "f***ing choke the s**t" out of her.
However, Sharpe's attorneys argued the comments were consensual role-playing, pointing to a series of text messages in which the woman had allegedly said she wanted to be choked during s*x. One message, shared by Shannon Sharpe’s representatives, says:
“i want you to put a dog collar around my neck and choke me with it while ur f*cking me,”
According to NBC News, Lanny Davis contended the threats were not real but were spoken "in the heat of the moment" during an argument.
Shannon Sharpe's response to the accusations against him
On April 22, 2025, Shannon Sharpe posted a video on X stating his innocence and claiming that the lawsuit was a "shakedown".
He specifically called out the plaintiff's attorney, Tony Buzbee, who has represented multiple women in a series of s*xual misconduct cases against NFL quarterback Deshaun Watson, accusing him of "targeting black men". Sharpe also mentioned Buzbee’s now-dropped suit involving rapper Jay-Z.
The NFL star compelled Buzbee to release the complete, unedited video of a s*xual encounter between him and the accuser, not just a “30-second clip” that could be altered.
"Hey, Tony, instead of releasing your edit, put the whole video out," Sharpe said. "I don’t have it, or I would myself."
Sharpe also attempted to offer the plaintiff $10 million to settle. As per Melanie King's X post, the accused's attorney stated that they were blindsided by the lawsuit. He said,
"We thought we were still in the middle of discussions when, without warning, the mediator, who's a retired judge, ourselves as lawyers, without any prior warning, still thinking that we were close to a final agreement, the plaintiff and her lawyer filed a case in Texas publicly accusing my client of lies and willful, harmful lies by using the r*pe word when she 100% knows, and the evidence will show that she knew, that this was entirely consensual."
There have been no new developments in the lawsuit as of now.
