Shannon Sharpe speaks onstage during the RenderATL Tech Conference 2024 at AmericasMart Atlanta on June 14, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images) (Getty Images)
Shannon Sharpe admits he was the one featured in the controversial Instagram live video in which viewers could hear what sounded like a sex act in progress.
The NFL legend’s Instagram page, @shannonsharpe84, went live on September 11. Followers could hear dangerous noises in the background. No one was seen in the video, but the host of “Club Shay Shay” confirmed that he was the one who took part in the sex act.
“I was a healthy, active man,” Sharpe said in an episode of “Nightcap,” a podcast he co-hosts with Chad Johnson, also known as Ochocinco.
Sharpe added that he was “extremely embarrassed” by the accidental leak, an admission that contradicts what he previously posted on Wednesday, when he claimed his Instagram had been hacked.
“I threw my phone on the bed,” Sharpe said, noting that at the time he had no idea he was doing a live stream on Instagram.
Sharpe said he was unaware of the incident until someone on his marketing team alerted him that it was live and sex noises could be heard.
“My heart sank,” Sharpe said on the Nightcap podcast. “It sank pretty low… After that, I called my agent, the agency. I called ESPN… I just had to tell them the truth. My phone wasn’t hacked.”
While the alleged sex tape has since been removed, the NFSW post hardly went unnoticed on social media, as the “Club Shay Shay” host has more than 3 million followers on Instagram and more than 2 million followers on X.
Sharpe has made a name for himself as one of the most well-known sports analysts. His podcast, Club Shay Shay, has over 3.4 million subscribers on YouTube and the NFL legend has previously appeared on ESPN, FOX Sports and CBS Sports.
As a player, Sharpe was named a Pro Bowler eight times, an All-Pro four times, and won three Super Bowl championship rings (twice with the Denver Broncos and once with the Baltimore Ravens) before being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
