Shannon Sharpe admits to having sex on Instagram live: 'Obviously I am embarrassed'

"From now on, my phone will be in the car," the NFL star joked.

Shannon Sharpe is coming clean about his viral Instagram Live moment.

On Wednesday night, the NFL Hall of Famer and current ESPN presenter shocked his 3.2 million Instagram followers by apparently going live in the middle of a sexual encounter with a woman. The broadcast, which ended after nearly two full minutes, was followed by a now-deleted X (formerly Twitter) statement from Sharpe, claiming that his account had been “hacked.” The Live did not show anyone onscreen, but viewers could hear audio.

Hours later, Sharpe recorded an emergency episode of his Nightcap podcast with cohost Chad "Ocho" Johnson, fessing up to the fact that he did indeed go live in the midst of an intimate moment.

"Obviously I am embarrassed,” Sharpe began. “[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? I’m embarrassed for a number of reasons.”

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Continuing in the third-person, Sharpe said, “People count on Shannon. Shay Shay media, Club Shay Shay, Nightcap, ESPN… There are a lot of people that count on him 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. And I’m very disappointed in myself,” he said, then clarified, “Not for the act. There are millions and billions of people of consenting age that engage in activities, but I let a lot of people down.”

Sharpe then stated that the video was not staged, and was entirely accidental.

"I came in, I threw my phone on the bed [and] engaged in an activity," he said. "I did not know IG live. I’ve never been on IG live. I’ve never turned IG live on, so I don’t know how it works.”

He explained that he was alerted to the intimate moment being live streamed by his other phone going off with calls and texts from friends and acquaintances. When a marketing assistant of his finally got through and filled him in on the situation, Sharpe said, “My heart sank. It dropped.”

Sharpe said that the assistant, “being a good samaritan,” was the one to end the Instagram Live and post the message claiming he was hacked. After catching up with the situation, Sharpe decided it was best to come clean.

“I called my agent, I called the agency, I called ESPN and I thought, ‘I just got to tell them the truth.’ My phone wasn’t hacked. It wasn’t a prank. It was me being a healthy, active male,” he said.

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While Sharpe continued reiterating his embarrassment and disappointment in himself, it only took a few minutes into the episode before he was ready to crack jokes about the situation. When Johnson suggested that the livestream may make Sharpe more popular amongst women, he laughed.

“If you have an allergy, like if you allergic to peanuts, you allergic to shellfish, bee stings or ants or something, you keep an epipen on you. I keep these on me,” he quipped, holding up several packs of condoms.

As for whether history would ever repeat itself, Sharpe said he would be taking precautions in the future. “I’ll tell you what,” he said. “From now on, my phone will be in the car.”

Sharpe is a former Super Bowl champion, who won the championship game three times across his 14-year career: two with the Broncos and one with the Baltimore Ravens. At the time of his 2004 retirement, Sharpe was number one all-time amongst tight ends in both yards and receptions. He has since become a presence in sports media as a former Fox Sports host and current ESPN contributor, in addition to his podcast with Johnson.

You can watch Sharpe address the IG live mishap in the podcast episode above.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.