Shannon Sharpe, Chad Ochocinco Settle $20 Million Defamation Suit 

Shannon Sharpe and his legal team have settled their second multimillion-dollar lawsuit in less than a month.

A $20 million suit against Sharpe, Nightcap talk show partner Chad Ochocinco, and Sharpe’s Shay Shay Media from Jimalita Tillman was dismissed with prejudice by a U.S. District Court in Illinois, according to court documents.

The suit derived from an incident at an Usher concert, when the singer fed cherries to Tillman in the front row. In her defamation suit, Tillman alleged Sharpe and Ochocinco disseminated “false and defamatory” statements on Nightcap that her husband was filing for divorce after her “fan engagement moment” with the singer went viral. In fact, Tillman wrote she was not married at the time of the incident, is not married now and is not going through a divorce. 

The terms of the settlement were not clear. “There are several inaccurate media reports that speculate on monies being pad to Miss Tillman,” Sharpe wrote on Instagram Friday night. “These statements are completely false.”

Sharpe’s lawyers in the case did not immediately comment.

Just a few days before the settlement, Tillman was interviewed on radio show The Morning Hustle, and sounded like she intended to keep fighting in court, saying Sharpe’s production company failed to adequately fact check.

“As a private citizen, my rights were encroached upon,” she said. “This is wrong, and something needs to happen about this.”

Following the suit’s dismissal, Tillman gave a statement to a local Fox affiliate in Chicago, saying “I am pleased with the outcome.” 

“We were able to put this matter behind us without a long-drawn-out court matter,” she added. “We look forward to future discussions about the positive contributions Mr. Sharpe and I both make to the community. I wish him, his family, and his business endeavors continued success.”

The end of the Tillman lawsuit comes only a few weeks after Sharpe settled a $50 million sexual assault lawsuit from a woman on July 18, according to her attorney Tony Buzbee. “Both sides acknowledge a long-term consensual and tumultuous relationship,” her attorney Tony Buzbee wrote on Instagram. “After protracted and respectful negotiations, I’m pleased to announce that we have reached a mutually agreed upon resolution.”

ESPN dropped the Pro Football Hall of Famer in late July. Sharpe joined ESPN in 2023 after leaving FS1’s Undisputed with Skip Bayless. Sharpe was a boon to First Take’s ratings and was emerging as a potential successor to Smith, but he ultimately never returned after the first lawsuit was filed in April. 

He has continued hosting his popular podcast/YouTube shows, Club Shay Shay and Nightcap with Johnson. Last week, he welcomed older brother Sterling Sharpe into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 

Tillman is an executive at several Chicago cultural centers, according to her LinkedIn.