Shannon Sharpe claimed his Instagram was hacked after a sexually explicit video was streamed live, which he has now was not true.
A woman could be heard moaning in the minute-and-a-half long video, which doesn’t show Sharpe or any faces.
At one point, the ESPN on-air talent’s name appears to be uttered by the anonymous voice.
The video started with the camera pointed toward what looked to be the ceiling in the room before turning over and facing down for the rest of the clip.
JUST IN: ESPN’s Shannon Sharpe allegedly accidentally went live on Instagram while getting freaky and claims he was hacked
“Beware my [account] Instagram was hacked this morning, my team and I are working vigorously to figure this out.
-UNC” pic.twitter.com/i1Rn23X3pB— Unlimited L’s (@unlimited_ls) September 11, 2024
Shannon Sharpe has been private about his dating life — he was previously engaged to fitness trainer Katy Kellner in 2016 — but has never been married.
With more than 3.2 million followers on Instagram, thousands of people tuned in for the NSFW live feed before it disappeared.
Sharpe later blamed the post on a cyber attack.
“Beware my @shannonsharpe84 Instagram was hacked this morning, my team and I are working vigorously to figure this out — UNC,” he wrote in a since-deleted post.
In an interview on the Night Cap sports podcast, Shannon Sharpe revealed the Instagram Live video was not a hack or staged.
“This was not staged. I came in and threw my phone on the bed, [and] engaged in an activity,” said Sharpe.
As viewers of the stream grew, Sharpe’s friends notified him of the Instagram Live video via calling him on FaceTime. Sharpe expressed he was upset by the fact this was completely unintentional and he was not aware or familiar with Instagram Live.
“I did not know IG Live, I’ve never been on IG Live. I’ve never turned IG Live on, so I don’t know how it works. All of a sudden, my other phone is going off and people are calling me [on] FaceTime.”
“[Jamie said] it sounds like you were having sex. Man, my heart just dropped.”
Career and achievements
Shannon Sharpe, a three-time Super Bowl winner during a 13-year NFL career, was one of the most dominant tight ends in pro football history, racking up four first-team All-Pro nods, eight Pro Bowl appearances and was named a member of the NFL’s 1990s All-Decade Team.
Since his played days came to an end, Sharpe has turned to sports media. He famously went head-to-head with Skip Bayless on FS1’s “Undisputed” until leaving the show in the summer of 2023.
Sharpe has since become an ESPN contributor and hosts a swath of podcasts — including his “Nightcap” show with fellow ex-NFLer Chad Ochocino, whom Sharpe excoriated on an episode week for not being professional.