Shannon Sharpe Denies Rape Allegations With NSFW Texts Involving Race Role Play, Eating Groceries & More Dirty Talk

Shannon Sharpe is pushing back against a $50 million civil lawsuit filed in Nevada accusing him of rape and sexual misconduct following an accidental Instagram Live broadcast that allegedly led his accuser to cut ties with him.

The former NFL star and current media personality is being sued by a woman who was previously identified as “Jane Doe,” who claims Sharpe sexually assaulted her on two occasions—once in October 2024 and again in January 2025—after she attempted to end their relationship.

The complaint also alleges battery, emotional abuse, and unauthorized recording of intimate moments.

Sharpe issued a lengthy statement through his legal team denying all claims and outed his previously unknown accuser as Gabriella Zuniga.

He called the lawsuit a “blackmail scheme” and asserted the relationship was consensual.

“The evidence paints a clear picture: this was a consensual, adult relationship that included role-playing, sexual language, and fantasy scenarios explicitly requested by Ms. Zuniga,” Sharpe’s lawyer, Lanny J. Davis, said in the statement. “Mr. Sharpe categorically denies all allegations of coercion or misconduct — especially the gross lie of ‘rape’ — and will not submit to what he sees as an egregious attempt at blackmail.”

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The lawsuit portrays a controlling relationship that began in 2023 after the two met at a Los Angeles gym.

Zuniga, who was 20 at the time, alleges Sharpe offered to “buy her fake t###” if she won a weight-loss challenge. She claims he demanded “complete control over her time and body” and became violent when she tried to leave.

One alleged incident involved Sharpe grabbing her by the neck and threatening her after she shared her location with friends.

“If you ever do that again, I will f###### kill you,” he allegedly said, according to the complaint.

Zuniga says she began distancing herself from Sharpe after a widely circulated Instagram Live incident in September 2024, when Sharpe inadvertently broadcast audio of a sexual encounter with another woman.

At the time, Sharpe claimed his account had been hacked but later admitted throwing his phone on the bed during a private moment, unintentionally activating the livestream.

“It was me being a healthy, active male,” Sharpe said on his podcast Nightcap, calling the incident “embarrassing” and apologizing to his family, employer and audience.

The lawsuit argues that the Instagram Live incident was a turning point. Zuniga claims she tried to end the relationship shortly afterward, which allegedly led to the first of two sexual assaults.

Sharpe’s legal team maintains that Zuniga secretly recorded their encounters and edited the footage to misrepresent the nature of their relationship.

“The edited tape that Ms. Zuniga secretly taped and showed to Mr. Sharpe during her blackmail attempt tries to falsely portray, as a result of this editing and out of context from prior text messages, that the sexual activity was not consensual,” Sharpe’s lawyer Lanny J. Davis added.

The lawsuit was filed by attorney Tony Buzbee, who is best known for representing multiple women accusing Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexual assault, as well as taking a massive loss to JAY-Z.

Sharpe, a three-time Super Bowl champion and Hall of Fame tight end, has continued his broadcasting duties with ESPN and his podcasts Club Shay Shay and Nightcap amid the legal battle.

This is not the first time Sharpe has faced allegations of misconduct. In 2010, a woman named Michele Bundy filed a restraining order accusing him of sexual assault and stalking.

No charges were filed in that case.

Below are some of the wild text messages Shannon Sharpe released to prove his innocence:

“Only if you put that baby gravy in me, then I can do whatever I want to me.” — Text from Gabriella Zuniga to Shannon Sharpe, November 23, 2023

“I wanna put my tongue in your a###### and then marry u.”

— Text from Gabriella Zuniga to Shannon Sharpe, January 12, 2024

“That’s my daddy f### I want u to put a b######## baby in me.”

— Text from Gabriella Zuniga to Shannon Sharpe, August 6, 2024

“You better crave it cuz ur gonna be stuck with it 4 life after you put a b######## baby in me.” — Text from Gabriella Zuniga to Shannon Sharpe, August 11, 2024