The woman who filed a lawsuit this week accusing Shannon Sharpe of sexual assault has released an audio recording of a phone call that she claims is proof that the Hall of Fame tight end threatened her.
A previously unidentified woman has filed a lawsuit against Sharpe in Nevada and is seeking more than $50 million in damages. The woman, who was later identified by Sharpe’s legal team as Gabriella Zuniga, claims she was in an abusive relationship with Sharpe and that Sharpe sexually assaulted her on multiple different occasions at the end of 2024 and beginning of 2025.
In response, Sharpe’s attorney Lanny J. Davis issued a press release on Monday calling the lawsuit “a blatant and cynical attempt to shake down Mr. Sharpe for millions of dollars.” Davis said the lawsuit includes a secretly recorded video of a consensual sexual encounter that was highly edited.
On Tuesday, Zuniga’s attorney Tony Buzbee shared an audio clip with TMZ of an alleged phone call between Zuniga and Sharpe. In the call, Zuniga can be heard telling Sharpe “don’t manipulate me.” Sharpe allegedly responds by saying “if you say that word one more time I’m gonna f–ing choke the s– out of you when I see you.”
Zuniga then told Sharpe she does not want to be choked, to which Sharpe said “yes you do, I don’t think you have a choice in the matter.”
The woman accusing #ShannonSharpe of r*pe has now released audio of a conversation she says she had with him … and in it, Sharpe can be heard telling her he's "going to f***ing choke the s*** out" of her. Read the full #exclusive story: https://t.co/SFHeYGx3rF pic.twitter.com/Hj9lh3Xe8R
— TMZ Sports (@TMZ_Sports) April 22, 2025
Buzbee did not release the entire phone call, so the context is unclear. The attorney claims, however, that the call took place near the end of Zuniga’s relationship with Sharpe and that the exchange was not “sexual” or “playful” in nature. Buzbee called Sharpe’s remarks “disturbing, aggressive, and dangerous.”
In their response, Sharpe’s legal team released graphic text messages that Zuniga allegedly sent to the ESPN analyst. Zuniga wrote, “I want you to put a dog collar around my neck and choke me with it while you’re f–king me” (edited by LBS for profanity) in one of the messages. You can read some of the other messages here.
Sharpe insists he never had anything other than a consensual relationship with Zuniga and did not rape her. Buzbee claims that Zuniga had to “escape” from Sharpe for her safety.
The 56-year-old Sharpe currently appears on ESPN’s “First Take” and hosts the popular “Club Shay Shay” podcast. The lawsuit was filed after a report stated Sharpe is on the verge of signing a $100 million media deal.
