ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith is addressing questions asking why he’s never been caught up in any career-ending scandals while speaking on his fellow ESPN analyst Shannon Sharpe’s sexual assault lawsuit controversy.
Shannon Sharpe Accused Of Sexual Assault In $50 Million Lawsuit By Ex-Girlfriend Gabriella Zuniga
As we previously shared, on April 21, 56-year-old Shannon Sharpe was accused of sexual assault in a $50 million lawsuit by a woman he used to date. The 22-year-old woman, who filed as “Jane Doe,” has been identified as OnlyFans model Gabriella “Gabbi” Zuniga, who goes by “Karli” on the platform. Zuniga accuses Sharpe of rape and other disturbing acts.
The woman filed a 13-page civil lawsuit in a Nevada state court with the help of Houston attorney Tony Buzbee. He has filed similar claims against Diddy and JAY-Z and notably dropped some of those same cases. In her suit, Zuniga claims she met Sharpe in 2023 at a gym in Los Angeles when she was 20 and he was 54. She alleges he assaulted, sexually assaulted, and emotionally tormented her throughout what she described as a “rocky consensual relationship” that ended this year.
Zuniga accuses Sharpe of being “manipulating and controlling” and even “repeatedly threatening to brutally choke and violently slap” the woman. She says when she said “no,” he didn’t stop. In her suit, she also made it clear that she is NOT the same woman whom Sharpe accidentally went live with while having sex last September. But that incident? It’s what finally pushed her to cut things off… even though she says Sharpe just wouldn’t let go.
Stephen A. Smith Breaks Silence On ESPN Co-Host Shannon Sharpe’s Sexual Assault Lawsuit
After the news broke, Shannon Sharpe’s lawyer condemned the lawsuit, claiming his client and accuser had a “consensual” relationship that ended on January 2, 2025. This is one day after she allegedly asked for “$25,000 per cheek. The lawyer said alleged texts prove that the woman and her attorney are attempting to extort Sharpe for “millions of dollars” over “unusual” sexual acts, like BDSM, that the OnlyFans model allegedly asked Shannon to perform.
Stephen A. Smith initially spoke about his ‘First Take‘ co-host Shannon Sharpe’s sexual assault lawsuit on his self-titled YouTube show earlier this week. He made it clear that he is not avoiding the conversation, but that he also has no control over Sharpe’s career at ESPN/Disney. He said, “I recruited Shannon… but I’m not the boss.” Smith said that Disney Co-Chairman Jimmy Pitaro spoke with him. He said:
“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. And that is all he said. And I can mention his name because I received his permission to say that. I don’t know what that means.
I have no idea what direction ESPN and Disney will go in when it comes to this matter. 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 bosses. That’s the situation that unfortunately Shannon Sharpe finds himself in at this particular moment in time.”
RELATED: Stephen A. Smith Speaks Out About His Co-Host Shannon Sharpe’s Lawsuit
Stephen A. Smith Explains Why He’s Never Been Caught In A Scandal Like ESPN Co-Host Shannon Sharpe
On a recent episode of his self-titled YouTube show, ‘’The Stephen A. Smith Show,’ Smith said:
“One of the things that we need to remind ourselves of is that in this day and age, very few things are private. In this day and age, there’s very few things that won’t come to light — ‘cause most things do. But, thinking beyond Shannon and myself, just thinking about the world that we live in — in terms of the podcast stratosphere and everything like that — a lot of people want to walk around thinking you can do what you wanna do when you wanna do it. You could own your own operation and you don’t have to answer to anybody. That’s not true.”
Smith continued to reveal the questions he gets asked about not facing scandals. He said:
“I’ve had people open their mouths and they’ve said, ‘Stephen A., you work for ESPN. What kind of control do you really have?’ This is my podcast. This is my YouTube show. I own this. But, if you think for one second that I can just do what I want to do when I want to do it and how I want to do it and there’s not going to be any repercussions, you’re clueless and you’re destined to fail and fall on your face. I’m not talking about Shannon Sharpe. I’m not talking about anybody in particular. I’m talking about a climate that we’re living in. Some people sit up there, look at me, and they say, ‘Stephen A. don’t get himself in this kind of trouble. How does he pull it off?’ Well, first of all. There’s certain behaviors and proclivities that you never have to worry about me engaging in.”
RELATED: Shannon Sharpe Announces He’s ‘Temporarily’ Stepping Down From His Role At ESPN Amid Rape Lawsuit
Smith continued to explain that working for a bigger company means he has someone to answer to. He explained:
“But, most importantly than that, I often say this about Walt Disney: I’d rather for a place with standards than one looking for them. You know why? Because lines are drawn. And I never have to worry about crossing them. Because guess what? I’ve got something there reminding me, ‘Hold on! Hold on! You don’t need to do that! It’s not a silo! I’m not by myself. I don’t get to operate in any way that I want without having to worry about ramifications and repercussions.’ I always have to be concerned about that.
So, I’m challenged every day to come on the airwaves and think about the ramifications and repercussions of anything that I do — constantly! And because of that, that’s an additional guardrail to secure me from putting myself in a position that can jeopardize myself, my show, my brand, my family, the company that I work for, and anything like that.”
Stephen A. Smith continued to disclaim that his message is not about Shannon Sharpe. He stated:
“Again, I’m not talking about Shannon right now. I’m talking about what people say when it comes to people like myself and others who unapologetically explain that we have people to answer to. And all you folks out there with your own podcasts, running your own operations, if you have advertisers and sponsors, guess what? You answer to somebody too. And I’m here to tell you, Don’t me upset about it. Feel good about it. Because you need to view it as an extra line of security that enables you—it being a guardrail—it enables you to watch lines that you want to make sure that you don’t cross.”
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