Audio has been released by TMZ which supposedly portrays a conversation between Shannon Sharpe and his alleged accuser Gabriella Zuniga, which presents the ESPN personality and podcast star in a terrible light. There’s no context to the audio at this time, but the fact that Zuniga (reportedly known on IG as @sheiskarli) recorded the conversions leaves plenty of questions and assumptions about her and lawyer Tony Buzbee’s intention.
In one conversation the exchange seems aggressive.
Gabbi Zuniga: “Anything I say you’re just gonna get mad at and you’re just gonna hang up on me so…”
Shannon Sharpe: “I’m not going to hang up on you Gabbi you want to be a bitch with me now so”.
Gabbi: “I don’t want to be, Don’t manipulate me.”
Sharpe: “If you say that word one more time I’m going to choke the sh*t out of you when I see you.”
Gabbi: “Well I don’t want to be choked.”
Shannon: “Yes you do. I don’t think you have a choice in the matter.”
Another conversation posted by TMZ on Instagram continued the choking theme.
Shannon Sharpe: …”Well what Gabbi”
Gabbi Zuniga: “You’re coming to LA tomorrow?”
Shannon: “Yes…” (Long Pause)
Gabbi: “Well I don’t know why you want to go out.”
Shannon: “Don’t worry Gabbi”
Gabbi: “Well Ok”
Shannon: “Ok what?”
Gabbi: “Well I’m not really interested …in getting choked so I guess we’re going.”
Shannon: “I might choke you in public…Big Black guy chokes small white woman.”
Gabbi: “That’s not a good look, Shannon”
Shannon: “It’s not a good look that you did what you did to me.”
Social Media Blasts Sharpe’s Age, But Believes He’s Being Extorted
Sharpe is being dragged through the mud for the 36-year age difference between him and his accuser in this civil case. However, social media is still leery of the audio recording, which sounds manipulated and edited, blaming Gabbi for setting Shannon up.
“The fact that she recorded all of these phone calls tells us all we need to know,” said one netizen.
“I’d love to hear some of Leonardo DiCaprio’s telephone conversations,” said another, downplaying the seriousness of the alleged conversation.
Reports that Sharpe offered the accuser $10M and she refused the offer, choosing to sue for $50M in civil proceedings, also leaves some doubt.
“She is clearly trying to get him to say something,” said a third netizen.
She sounds young and dumb and immature! And he sounds even more dumb at 56 years old!
“She orchestrated that nicely,” said one Instagram user. ” I’m not a fan of Unc but between her texts and the way she pressed record and chose her words carefully is giving orchestrate level conductor vibes: intricate and precise.”
Shouted another fan in defense of Unc: “This is super edited…you can hear the audio delays.”
One netizen had a completely different twist on the recording. “This is role play they are doing, but let me mind my Black woman business,” she said.
Stephen A. Smith Makes Statement On Podcast About Shannon Sharpe Lawsuit
Things have gotten so thick, that Shannon’s co-host and friend Stephen A. Smith has addressed the issue on his Tuesday episode of his self-titled YouTube show.
Smith, who has expressed an interest in running for President in 2028, explained that he spoke with co-chairman Jimmy Pitaro, who says the company is in the process of gathering facts and taking the matter very seriously.
“I recruited Shannon… but I’m not the boss,” Smith said, referring to when Sharpe left Fox for ESPN in June 2023. “Those are other folks. There are layers to this and there are certain layers that even I am not on. I can tell you I also spoke to co-chairman of Disney, the boss, Jimmy Pitaro, who made it very, very clear that [ESPN is] taking this matter very seriously and we are looking into this very, very closely and once we gather as many facts as we possibly can, we will go from there”
“I have no idea what direction ESPN and Disney will go in when it comes to this matter,” Smith said. “All I do know is I won’t be me making the decision. It will be others upstairs. In the end, all of us have someone to answer to. No matter how maverick we try to be and we own our own business… there are a bosses. That’s the situation that unfortunately that Shannon Sharpe finds himself in at this particular moment in time.”
Smith also admits that he spoke to Sharpe about the serious matter.
“[Sharpe] was emphatic in stating his innocence that this is a shakedown,” Smith said, in reference to Shannon’s Instagram video earlier that day, professing his innocence.
Smith said ESPN was aware that he was going to address this developing story on his YouTube show. The vote of confidence for Shannon wasn’t too strong.
“In my perfect world, [Sharpe] moves on, and somehow, some way, we find this all to be false,” Smith said. “But it doesn’t seem like that’s the way things are about to go down, considering who [the woman’s lawyer] Mr. [Tony] Buzbee is and how emphatic his client is proclaiming that she is right and she is telling the truth. I don’t know where this is going to go. I can’t speak to anything else.”
Barring an incredible turn of events, we have probably seen the last of Shannon Sharpe on “First Take.”
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