Shannon Sharpe admits to live streaming sex audio on Instagram

After initially claiming he had been hacked, NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe confessed that he accidentally livestreamed audio of a bedroom flirtation to his 3.2 million Instagram followers.

His admission came late Wednesday during an episode of his podcast “Nightcap,” which he co-hosts with former football colleague Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson.

“Of course I'm embarrassed,” Sharpe said seriously. “As someone who is very, very private, having one of his most intimate details – the audio recording – out there for the whole world to hear, I'm embarrassed for a number of reasons.”

The ESPN employee went on to say that he was disappointed in himself and acknowledged that “there are a lot of people who rely on Shannon to conduct himself professionally at all times.”

Sharpe added: “I always try to behave professionally at all times, even when I'm behind closed doors.”

The sensual clip in question surfaced online on Wednesday morning and went viral almost immediately after thousands of people began commenting and reposting the link to Sharpe's Instagram account. Although it doesn't show any sex act – or any images at all – an unidentified woman can be heard moaning throughout the livestream.

In a now-deleted post to X, Sharpe claimed his account had been hacked before coming clean on his podcast.

“Be careful, my Instagram @shannonsharpe84 was hacked this morning. My team and I are working hard to figure it out,” it said.

Sharpe also added that at no point did he know that his phone was recording, attributing this to his lack of technical knowledge.

“I threw my phone on the bed and engaged in an activity,” Sharpe said.

“I didn't know about IG Live,” he continued. “I've never turned on IG Live, so I don't know how it works, and suddenly my other phone started ringing.”

Eventually, his marketing partner Jamie Fritz Sharpe reached out to him and made him aware of the situation.

“My heart sank,” he said. “I called my agent, I called the agency, I called ESPN and I [thought] Just tell them the truth. My phone wasn't hacked, it wasn't a prank, I was a healthy, active man.”

Sharpe, who retired from the NFL in 2004, won three Super Bowls during his 14-year career, the first two with the Broncos in 1997 and 1998, and the third in 2000 with the Baltimore Ravens. Since retiring from football, he has become a fixture in sports media, particularly through ESPN and the podcast he shares with Johnson.

Originally published: September 12, 2024 at 11:28 am