Shannon Sharpe attempts to clear the air after ‘intimate’ Instagram Live
After broadcasting explicit audio of himself on IG Live, Shannon Sharpe addressed the awkward situation, saying, “This was not staged.”
It was an awkward day in “Club Shay Shay.”
Yesterday, NFL player turned TV personality Shannon Sharpe went viral after thousands of his Instagram followers heard him engage in a sex act on Instagram Live. After unknowingly broadcasting the intimate moment on his social media, Sharpe addressed the situation in an “emergency” episode of his show “Nightcap” with Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson. Kicking off the episode on a lighthearted note, Sharpe followed his usual intro, “I’m your favorite unc,” with “at least I used to be your favorite unc,” jokingly acknowledging what transpired on social media.
“Obviously I am embarrassed,” Sharpe said in a more serious tone. “[I’m] someone that is extremely, extremely private and to have one of your most intimate details, the audio heard for the entire world to hear, I’m embarrassed for a number of reasons.”
Acknowledging his responsibility as a public figure with connections to large brands like ESPN and as a father, Sharpe explained how disappointed he was with himself about what transpired.
“Even when I’m behind closed doors, I still try to remain a level of professional [decorum], although I’m in the privacy of my own home, and I’m very disappointed in myself, not for the act — there are millions and billions of consenting age that engage in activities. But to have your most intimate detail on the audio to be heard…I let a lot of people down,” he added.
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Despite social media speculations about the ordeal, Sharpe emphasized that “this was not staged.” According to the “Nightcap” co-host, he had thrown his phone on the bed before engaging in the leaked activities without even realizing that his phone had started an IG live. It was not until his phone started lighting up with calls from friends that Sharpe realized something had happened.
“I’ve never been on IG Live; I’ve never turned IG Live on, so I don’t know how it works,” he claimed, explaining how his friend Jamie Fritz was the one to get ahold of him and tell him what was going on. “He said, ‘uh Shannon, you on IG Live.’[…] Now I’m starting to get agitated because you call me and say I’m on IG Live when I know I didn’t click myself on IG Live, and he said they can hear me I said ‘hear me doing what’ [and he said] said ‘it sounds like you were having sex,’” Sharpe recounted. “Man, my heart sank…it dropped.”
While the people on his social media team sprung to action, turning off the Live and posting a since-deleted Instagram story post saying that the star’s account was compromised, Sharpe ultimately decided that honesty was the best policy.
“I called my agency, I called ESPN [and] I said ‘I just got to tell them the truth. My phone wasn’t hacked. It wasn’t a prank; it was me being a healthy, active male,” he said.
While the co-hosts joked about the way this situation should shut down any speculations about Sharpe’s sexuality, he says the worst part of the situation is the fact that his family and friends will have to answer for his actions.
“After it happened I just remembered everything my grandfather and my grandmother said. They said ‘Boy you messed it up, now clean it up,” he concluded.
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