Shannon Sharpe admits Instagram Live sex act wasn't a hack

NFL Hall of Fame member Shannon Sharpe has admitted that an intimate moment between an unidentified man and woman that briefly graced his Instagram page on Wednesday was actually his and that the live clip was posted by mistake – and not, as he previously claimed, the result of a hacker attack on him.

On Wednesday, Sharpe's 3.2 million followers may have been stunned or shocked to hear the sound of a woman moaning in an Instagram Live session that appeared on the former tight end's page. Sharpe was not seen in the quickly deleted livestream video and was quick to claim the incident was the result of hackers targeting the platform.

“Beware, my Instagram @shannonsharpe84 was hacked this morning. My team and I are working hard to figure this out – UNC,” Sharpe said, but deleted the post shortly after publication.

Sharpe decided to come clean and admit that the post was an accident while discussing his Nightcap Podcast on Wednesday. He accidentally went live after throwing his phone on the bed before engaging in the private encounter that, he says, unfortunately became public.

“Of course I'm embarrassed. To have someone who is extremely, extremely private, and one of their most intimate details – the audio recording – for the whole world to hear, is embarrassing for a number of reasons,” Sharpe said in the emergency episode of Nightcap.

“A lot of people rely on Shannon to always conduct herself professionally, and I try to always conduct myself professionally, even when I'm behind closed doors. … I'm very disappointed in myself, not in the act. I think there are millions and billions of people of consenting age who participate in activities, but when you hear the audio, I'm disappointed in myself. I've disappointed a lot of people,” he added.

Explaining the incident and how he found out about it, Sharpe attributed it to his lack of technical expertise, saying he had never heard of Instagram Live.

“I threw my phone on the bed and was busy doing some activity. I didn't know about IG Live. I never turned on IG Live so I don't know how it works, and suddenly my other phone started ringing,” he said. “My phone wasn't hacked. It wasn't a prank, I was just a healthy, active man.”

Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson then reminded Sharpe how the former Denver Broncos tight end accidentally “butt-dialed” him three times — a testament to the anchor's lack of knowledge of technology. But that didn't stop him from reprimanding him.

“I'm astonished. I never thought you, Uncle, would ever do something so out of character,” Johnson said. “A little unprofessional. I'm not mad, I'm deeply disappointed because I hold you to higher standards. The kind of standards you tried to reprimand me for just Saturday. I was really shocked.”

Soon the mood lightened and Sharpe jokingly mentioned a sexual enhancer that the show was sponsoring.