Club Shay Shay host Shannon Sharpe has been accused of rape and battery in a newly filed $50 million lawsuit.
The 13-page suit was filed in a Nevada state court on Sunday, April 20, according to reports from NBC News.
The plaintiff’s lawyer, Tony Buzbee — best known for representing several plaintiffs in the Diddy case and previously being sued by Jay-Z for extortion — publicly confirmed his involvement in the case via Instagram on Monday, April 21.
“Late last night, The Buzbee Law Firm filed a civil lawsuit on behalf of a brave young woman who alleges she was brutally sexually assaulted by former NFL player Shannon Sharpe on multiple occasions, the last incident occurring in January 2025,” the attorney wrote.
“The lawsuit, filed under the pseudonym ‘Jane Doe,’ lays out a pattern of intimidation, manipulation, and abuse — including allegations that Sharpe repeatedly threatened to choke and slap Jane Doe. The case seeks $50 million in damages.”
“I’m extremely proud to represent Jane Doe,” Buzbee added. “It takes a great deal of courage to stand up against those with power, fame, and money. I look forward to pressing this case in court.”
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According to the suit, Jane Doe claims she met the Hall of Fame tight end at a gym in Los Angeles when she was 20 and he was in his mid-50s.
Doe alleges that Sharpe told her during their first encounter that he’d “buy her fake ts”** if she won a weight-loss competition with him.
He allegedly went on to aggressively call, text, and pressure her to come to his Beverly Glen mansion.
Although Doe described their interactions as “controlling and verbally abusive,” she says they ultimately entered a consensual relationship.
“He demanded complete control over her time and body, expecting her to be at his house on his schedule, at his command, whenever he called,” Buzbee wrote in the documents.
Last year, the NFL player-turned-broadcaster made headlines after he accidentally went Live on Instagram while having sex with a woman. The suit contends that it was another woman, not the plaintiff, in the Live, and this is when Jane Doe “started pulling away from Sharpe.”
“Plaintiff tried sharing her location with friends from her iPhone — just in case,” Buzbee continued. “But Sharpe saw her doing this. The moment he realized what she was doing, he grabbed her by the neck and told her, ‘If you ever do that again, I will f***ing kill you.’”
The suit alleges that Doe’s attempts to distance herself from the podcaster led him to respond with sexual abuse.
She alleges that Sharpe “forced himself on her while she was “crying and sobbing” during an interaction in October 2024.
A second assault allegedly occurred in January 2025, when he came over to her home under the pretense of giving her a birthday gift, and then violently sexually assaulted her again.
As of this writing, Sharpe has not issued a public statement regarding the allegations.
The plaintiff is seeking $50 million in damages.
