Who is Lanny J. Davis? All about lawyer representing Shannon Sharpe in $50M s*xual assault and battery lawsuit

Former NFL player Shannon Sharpe has been accused of s*xual assault in a lawsuit filed in Nevada on Sunday, April 20. According to the accuser, Sharpe allegedly also used his fame to control her, and she further claimed that she had a two-year-long relationship with Sharpe.

Meanwhile, attorney Lanny J. Davis has issued a response in connection with the allegations against his client, Sharpe.

Trigger warning: The article contains references to s*xual assault. Readers' description is advised.

On April 21, a statement was uploaded on Sharpe's X and Instagram accounts containing messages that he allegedly received from the accuser. In the same post, Davis also mentioned Tony Buzbee and described the decision to sue Sharpe as a "blatant and cynical attempt to shake down Mr. Sharpe for millions of dollars."

Talking about the messages from the accuser allegedly sent to Shannon Sharpe, Davis wrote:

"The evidence paints a clear picture: this was a consensual, adult relationship that included role-playing, s*xual language, and fantasy scenarios explicitly requested by Ms. Zuniga (the supposed accuser)."

Attorney Lanny J. Davis is known to have a very popular client base, including Harvey Weinstein, the company Starbucks, Trent Lott, Dan Snyder, and Martha Stewart. Davis has also been a commentator as well as a political analyst for MSNBC, CNN, and CNBC.

Davis began his legal career as an associate at Squire Patton Boggs back in 1975, and in 1978, he became a partner at the law firm. He also ran for Maryland's 8th congressional district in 1976. Furthermore, from 1996 to 1998, Lanny Davis served as a special counsel to the president.

In 2012, he founded Purple Nation Solutions, a public affairs firm. Then, in 2016, Davis co-founded the law firm Davis Goldberg & Galper with partners Adam Goldberg and Joshua Galper.

Davis is also the co-founder of the public relations firm Trident DMG. Meanwhile, in July 2018, Michael Cohen hired Davis to represent him in the Stormy Daniels–Donald Trump scandal.

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Exploring more about the lawsuit involving Shannon Sharpe

On Sunday, April 20, Shannon Sharpe was accused of s*xual assault, battery, and s*xual battery. While the identity of the woman wasn't revealed officially, in the aforementioned response, attorney Davis suggested that an individual named Gabriella Zuniga initiated s*xual conversations.

In the lawsuit, the woman claimed that the relationship with Sharpe started as a consensual one, until he allegedly began manipulating and controlling her. The lawsuit further claimed that Sharpe had allegedly "violently s*xually assaulted and an*lly r*ped plaintiff," as reported by CNN on April 21.

The outlet reported a portion of the civil complaint, which claimed that Sharpe had physically assaulted the lady who was much younger than him. The 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..."

While attorney Tony Buzbee complimented his client (the complainant) for showing apparent courage, Shannon Sharpe's lawyer accused her of blackmailing the former NFL player.

One of the incidents alleged in the suit happened earlier this year, in January. As per NBC Sports on April 21, Shannon allegedly forced the complainant to have an unprotected s*xual relationship with him, while the plaintiff reportedly asked him to either stop or use protection.

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The complainant has sought damages worth at least $50 million from Shannon Sharpe.