Shannon Sharpe Reportedly Refusing To View 'Key Evidence' From Assault Accuser Amid $50 Million Lawsuit

Yahoo

29-04-2025

More details have emerged regarding the $50 million lawsuit former star Shannon Sharpe is facing.
In a new statement, the legal team filing against Shannon Sharpe revealed the Super Bowl champion was given a chance to view "key evidence" during mediation. However, according to them, Sharpe refused.
Shortly after Sharpe was accused of assaulting a young adult woman in a $50 million lawsuit, the "Club Shay Shay" podcast host released a public statement, denying the allegations.
He also explained that Tony Buzbee, the lawyer for the woman who filed the suit against him, would likely release a "30-second clip of a sex tape" of him in the coming days.
Sharpe, 56, continued and said that Buzbee was trying to paint him in a negative light by trying to "make me look guilty and play into every stereotype you could possibly imagine."
"That video should actually be ten minutes or so," he continued. "Hey, Tony, instead of releasing your edit, put the whole video out. I don't have it, or I would myself. You know what happened, and you're trying to manipulate the media.
However, while speaking with TMZ, Buzbee said that Sharpe hasn't even seen the clip of the sex tape he was referring to. In fact, when Sharpe was offered a chance to see it, he allegedly refused.
Buzbee also clarified that he and his client wouldn't be releasing any video, calling it "key evidence" in their case against him.
"The only reason you know about the existence of a video recording is that Mr. Sharpe specifically referenced it in his bullsh-t statement," Buzbee said. "The contents of the video [were] shared during the mediation process with Sharpe's attorneys. Again, Sharpe and his team disclosed that, not us. Sharpe himself was offered on more than one occasion to view it himself. He declined. We've never made any claims or threats about it and won't do so."
Buzbee also spoke about the possibility of that video being released for public viewing.
"And no," he added, "we won't be 'releasing' the video as it is key evidence in the case and will be treated as such."
Although Buzbee's client filed under the pseudonym Jane Doe, Sharpe and his legal representative released her name, Gabi Zuniga.
In his first statement, Sharpe slammed Buzbee and Zuniga for attempting to extort him out of a large sum of money. He went on to say that he planned to sue both of them for trying to defame his character and ruin his career.
"Gabbi and Tony Buzbee want fifty million dollars, [but] what they're getting is sued for defamation and trying to take me down. My career is all about real talk and honesty. I know my family and fans know exactly what this is about, and I'm going to be out there telling you whatever I need to say, just like I always do. I love all you guys," Sharpe said.
Days after the allegations against Sharpe broke the internet, the "Nightcap" host revealed he'd be stepping down from his role on ESPN's "First Take" while he tends to his personal issues.
He also addressed his relationship with Zuniga, calling it "100% consensual."
"My statement is found here, and this is the truth," he wrote. "The relationship in question was 100% consensual. At this juncture, I am electing to step aside temporarily from my ESPN duties."
He concluded, "I sincerely appreciate the overwhelming and ongoing support I have received from my family, fans, friends, and colleagues."
Sharpe's "First Take" co-worker, Stephen A. Smith, also spoke on the allegations against him and defended him against the backlash.
'Do I believe that Shannon Sharpe is guilty of what he has been accused of? Absolutely not. That is my personal opinion,' he said.
'The brother that I've come to know, I don't believe would assault or rape anybody, and I'm going to state that emphatically, but just as emphatically, I'm going to remind everybody it is my opinion, because of what I feel about him, and not in any way imply that I know a damn thing beyond that, because I don't know," he added.
'I'll always be here for him if he needs me. Just the same way I said that about Skip Bayless when he departed from Fox, just the same way that I would say about any of my friends,' Smith explained. 'That's what friends do, even in the toughest of times, sometimes especially the toughest of times, they ain't telling you you're right all the time, and hell, sometimes they may not stop you from falling into that abyss, but they're there to lift you up when nobody else will.'