Shannon Sharpe addresses accidental intimate audio leak on Instagram Live

HOLLYWOOD (WKRC) — Shannon Sharpe confirmed that a viral Instagram Live post shared audio of himself engaged in sexual activity with a woman to his nearly 3.2 million followers Wednesday.

Sharpe appeared next to former Bengals star Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson in an emergency episode of Nightcap to address the situation.

“Obviously I am embarrassed. Someone that is extremely, extremely private and to have one of your most intimate details – the audio – heard for the entire world to hear, I’m embarrassed for a number of reasons,” the Pro Football Hall of Famer said in the episode. “People count on Shannon… There are a lot of people that count on Shannon to be professional at all times and I always try to be professional at all times, 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. I’m very disappointed in myself. Not for the act. I think there are millions and billions of people of consenting age that engage in activities, but for to have the most intimate detail, for the audio to be heard… I’m disappointed in myself. I let a lot of people down. My kids, I reached out to them. I called them. I called my sister.”

During the emergency episode, Sharpe confirmed that he had gone live by mistake, contradicting a now-deleted X post from the ESPN personality in which he claimed that he had been hacked, per The New York Post.

“I came in. I threw my phone on the bed. I engaged in an activity. I’ve never been on IG Live. I’ve never turned IG Live on, so I don’t know how it works,” Sharpe said.

Sharpe went on to say that he began receiving calls from his marketing partner on another phone. After being alerted to the situation, another person ended the IG Live, Sharpe explained on the show.

“My phone wasn’t hacked. It wasn’t a prank, it was me being a healthy, active male,” Sharpe said during the show.

Johnson and Sharpe did make light of the situation at several points during the show and Sharpe went on to advertise a male enhancement product that sponsors the show.