ESPN TV personality Shannon Sharpe is facing a $50 million lawsuit from a woman who is accusing him of rape multiple times between the end of 2024 and beginning of 2025. Yet, the NFL Hall of Fame tight end is attempting to clear his name by proving it was a consensual relationship.
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There was a 13-page civil complaint, that was filed in a Nevada state court, which accused Sharpe of "committed assault, sexual assault, battery, and sexual battery, and that he engaged in the intentional infliction of emotional distress."
The accuser has been named as Gabriella Zuniga, and she apparently recorded a sexual encounter to prove it, yet according to Sharpe, it is believed to be heavily edited and out of context.
That is, Sharpe and his legal team issued a statement in response to this new lawsuit, referencing it as, "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."
To prove his innocence, multiple graphic text messages were released that had been sent by the "victim."
🚨JUST IN: STATEMENT FROM SHANNON SHARPE DENYING THE RAPE ALLEGATIONS.
Shannon is calling these allegations “blackmail.”
SHARPE’s TEAM RELEASED SOME DAMMING TEXT MESSAGES FROM THE ACCUSER.
…
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) April 21, 2025
These text messages sent from the Zuminga included:
"I want you to put a dog collar around my neck and choke me..."
"I wanna put my tongue in your [explicit] and then marry u."
"You better crave it cuz ur gonna be stuck with it 4 life after you put a big black baby in me."
Many fans are viewing this as a money grab situation, considering Sharpe was recently in the news for expecting a $100 million dollar contract extension.
One user on X wrote, "Gabriella Zuniga is the reason real rape victims aren't believed. Timing your accusation right when Shannon Sharpe is about to land a $100 million deal? That's not justice...that's a money grab. You weren't traumatized...you were calculating. And now you're out here dragging his name through the dirt for a payday."
Another fan said Sharpe should have seen it coming, "You ignored some serious red flags, but you still don't deserve to be extorted. Hope it works out."
While others asked the question, "What happened to Michelle?"
To note, this was in reference to the audio from Sharpe's accidental Instagram live video from last year, in which he was caught "in the act" with a woman who was named Michelle.
As for this most recent case, controversial lawyer Tony Buzbee is the one representing Zuninga, and had released a statement.
"It takes a great deal of courage to stand up against those with power, fame and money," Buzbee said after the lawsuit was filed. "I look forward to pressing this case in court."
While many internet detectives thought they had discovered Gabriella Zuniga's Instagram, this appears to be the case of mistaken identity, as the user changed their bio to read: "Im not associated with Shannon sharpe im from Canada!!"
That was fast pic.twitter.com/GACStBPQwJ
— NonfungibleT (@Mr908Official) April 21, 2025
Related: Shannon Sharpe Comes Clean After NSFW Instagram Live Incident: 'My Phone Wasn't Hacked'
