Shannon Sharpe speaks onstage during the Nightcap Summer Sessions at Buckhead Theatre on Aug. 22, 2024, in Atlanta.
Originally appeared on E! Online
Shannon Sharpe is setting the record straight.
While the ESPN commentator initially claimed his Instagram account had been compromised after explicit audio of an apparent sexual act could be heard in an Instagram Live, he has since admitted that was not actually the case and shared insight into what really happened.
"This was not staged," Sharpe explained on the Sept. 11 episode of his podcast, "Nightcap." "I came in, threw my phone on the bed, engaged in an activity. 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."
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After the onslaught of phone calls, he realized what had just happened.
"My heart sank," he said. "It dropped."
The former Denver Broncos tight end couldn't believe this could happen, especially since he'd never used the feature before.
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"[I'm] someone that is extremely, extremely private, and to have one of your most intimate details, the audio heard for the entire world to hear," Sharpe explained, "I'm embarrassed for a number of reasons."
"There are a lot of people that count on me at all times," he continued. "Even when I'm behind closed doors, I still try to remain a level of professional, although I'm in the privacy of my own home, and I'm very disappointed in myself, not for the act — there are millions and billions of consenting age that engage in activities. But to have their most intimate detail and audio to be heard, I'm disappointed in myself. I let a lot of people down."
The 56-year-old noted that he also reached out to his kids Kayla, 31, Kiari, 31, and Kaley, 30, to apologize, along with other family members amid the fallout.
Sharpe's fellow NFL alum have lauded him for speaking out.
Co-host Chad Johnson saw it as a learning moment.
"This is why I always tell you that you need to evolve with the times," the former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver said on the Sept. 11 episode. "You're not very good at technology, you're not very technically savvy, so I gave you a little grace."
Meanwhile, fellow ESPN star Pat McAfee commended him for taking accountability for the incident.
"You handled it perfectly on 'Nightcap,'" he said on his eponymous ESPN show on Thursday. "We're all very thankful that you did that instead of faking you were hacked."
