As a Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end who dominated the NFL for 14 seasons, Shannon Sharpe has managed to stay notable. After retiring from the league in 2003, Sharpe transitioned his abundant personality into the broadcasting and social media sphere. Two nights ahead of Dolphins vs. Bills on TNF, he mistakenly went a little too far, accidentally exposing a sexual encounter with a woman called “Michelle” via Instagram Live.
Capitalizing On A Moment
The former NFL player doesn’t seem to be letting the digital gaff get to him. Additionally, he appears to be using it to his advantage, directing momentous traffic to his podcast Nightcap. After all, it’s like Art LaFleur said in The Sandlot (1993), when it comes to most people, “they don’t recognize [an opportunity] when it spits in their shoes,” and Sharpe is clearly not most people. Unc has already released shirts that read “Nightclap.”
Sharpe — who compiled more than 10,000 receiving yards and 60 touchdowns in the NFL — is obviously not the first celebrity to metaphorically and literally get caught with his pants down on social media. However, it’s not about how you start, but how you finish.
Social Media Mishaps
As noted, Sharpe may be the latest A-lister to let in eyes where they are not intended, but others have long beaten him to the punch. Let’s review a short list of stars that have unintentionally leaked live content or other private moments.
Jamal Murray
Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray is an NBA champion, but before that, he had a notable social media leak in 2020 with his girlfriend Harper Hempel. Via his Instagram story, Murray erroneously posted an intimate exchange with he and Hempel, a fellow former athlete at the University of Kentucky.
Draymond Green
Golden State Warriors bad boy Draymond Green is undoubtedly headed to the Naismith Hall of Fame one day. Be that as it may, he can’t undo the fact that he leaked a nude of himself over his personal Snapchat account back in 2016. Green is incredibly accomplished and successful in the basketball world, so he likely cares not about his social media blunder.
Robin Thicke
Singer and lifelong Hollywooder Robin Thicke has given us many hits over the years, but he probably wanted to hit himself in the face back in summer of 2013. At an MTV VMAs after party, Thicke was caught in the thick of it as he was snapped posing with a female fan. A mirror behind the two showed Thicke’s hand on the woman’s — identified as Lana Scolaro — rear end. Scolaro uploaded the photo of her and the “Lost Without You” singer to Instagram before subsequently going viral. Thicke and actress Paula Patton eventually divorced in 2015.
Kim Kardashian & Ray J
Whether this one was unintentional or not, Kim K’s stardom explosion all stems back to her 2007 sex tape leak with singer Ray J in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. A deal for distribution rights to the tape was negotiated with Vivid Entertainment for the 41-minute film.
Pamela Anderson & Tommy Lee
Ultimately, this is the godfather of modern celebrity sex tape leaks. In the late 1990s, actress Pamela Anderson and Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee filmed themselves honeymooning on the waters of Lake Mead. Of course, if you’ve seen the Pam & Tommy (2022) miniseries, you know most of the rest.
When it comes to Shannon Sharpe, he may have avoided any camera shots, but the audio to his recent Instagram Live with “Michelle” is undisputed. As Sharpe claimed on Nightcap, “It was me being a healthy, active male.”
Sharpe is currently employed by The Walt Disney Company at ESPN, appearing regularly across the network’s programming.
