NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe has revealed that a brief moment of intimacy posted on his Instagram Live was indeed him and was uploaded by accident, contrary to his initial claim of being hacked. The clip, which featured the sound of a woman moaning, surprised Sharpe’s 3.2 million followers on Wednesday before it was quickly removed.
Initially, Sharpe stated that his account had been compromised, urging his followers to be cautious. He posted, “Beware my @shannonsharpe84 Instagram was hacked this morning, my team and I are working vigorously to figure this out,” but deleted the message shortly after.
During an emergency episode of his Nightcap podcast, Sharpe confessed to the mistake, explaining that he had inadvertently gone live after tossing his phone onto the bed while engaging in a private moment. He expressed his embarrassment at having such a private detail exposed publicly, stating, “I’m embarrassed for a number of reasons.”
Sharpe acknowledged the expectations placed upon him to maintain professionalism, saying he was disappointed in himself for the situation, though he did not regret the act itself. “There are millions and billions of people of consenting age that engage in activities, but for the audio to be heard I’m disappointed in myself,” he added.
He further described his unawareness of Instagram Live and how he discovered the incident. “I threw my phone on the bed, engaged in an activity. I did not know IG Live. I’ve never turned IG Live on so I don’t know how it works,” he explained, clarifying that there was no hacking involved.
Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, a former NFL player, humorously reminded Sharpe of past incidents where he accidentally called him, pointing to his apparent tech troubles. Johnson expressed his disappointment, stating that he expected more from Sharpe, especially after he had previously called out Johnson for not meeting certain standards.
The conversation eventually lightened, with Sharpe humorously referencing a male enhancement product that sponsors his show.