Shannon Sharpe is currently facing a legal battle against rape accusations, but he reportedly attempted to mitigate the situation before things went public. The Hall of Famer and his attorneys offered the woman who filed the case a sum of $10 million to not file, but she declined and went forward with her $50 million lawsuit instead, according to Page Six.
On April 20, 2025, a 13-page civil complaint was filed in a Nevada state court accusing Sharpe of committing assault, sexual assault, battery, and sexual battery, and that he engaged in the intentional infliction of emotional distress. The suit discloses the plaintiff and Sharpe entered a two-year consensual relationship, but his behavior turned abusive as he allegedly has threatened to kill the plaintiff when she attempted to share her location with friends, raped her, and sexually assaulted her multiple times.
Attorneys from both sides agreed Sharpe and Doe both tried to mediate the issue beforehand. Doe’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, told the source that Sharpe offered his client $10 million, but she “rejected that offer to settle and decided to file the suit.” The retired NFL star’s legal rep told Front Office Sports on Tuesday (April 22) that the woman “demanded tens of millions of dollars … in return for her not publishing” a sex tape both parties know exists.
“Back in early February, our office contacted Mr. Sharpe on behalf of Jane Doe and broached the subject of a meeting. Multiple conversations took place. Ultimately, a mediation occurred,” Buzbee said. He also alleges Sharpe was represented by different attorneys during that mediation, which went on for six weeks.
Ultimately, Doe “refused the hefty sum offered by Sharpe and instead filed this case.”
In her complaint, the woman alleged that Sharpe’s behavior towards her became increasingly abusive when she “began to pull away” from him after his viral September 2024 Instagram Live incident. She claims he “violently sexually assaulted and anally raped” her two different times in Las Vegas on Oct. 6, 2024, after “blatantly ignoring her requests for him to stop.” On Jan. 2, 2025, he allegedly “did it again.”
The Club Shay Shay host’s team has since released a statement claiming the case is a “blatant and cynical attempt to shake down” Sharpe and have provided alleged text messages sent between the two exes as evidence. They also took it one step further by releasing the plaintiff’s full name, as she filed her case under a Jane Doe pseudonym. Sharpe’s counsel, Lanny J. Davis & Associates, revealed in their April 21 statement that the woman’s name is allegedly Gabriella Zuniga. The document argues that Zuniga is lying and attempting to extort Sharpe for millions.
After the statement, the former Denver Broncos player shared a video where he addressed his followers “directly and from the heart.” He says the ordeal is “being orchestrated by Tony Buzbee, who has targeted JAY-Z and targets Black men.” Sharpe also warned people he thinks a 30-second sex tape will be released that “tries to make him look guilty,” and said Buzbee’s team should release the entire “10-minutes or so” clip to ensure the full context is taken into account. Watch his video and read his statement above.
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