Shannon Sharpe Reacts To Viral Photos Of Nicole Murphy And Director Antoine Fuqua Kissing
Sports analyst Shannon Sharpe has not been shy about his infatuation with former reality star Nicole Murphy, and now he’s speaking out about her viral kissing candids.
In steamy photos released this week, Murphy was photographed kissing married Hollywood director Antoine Fuqua poolside at a hotel in Ischia, Italy. Fuqua, who is married to actress Lela Rochon, was shirtless with a towel around his waist while Murphy wore a floral-print bikini.
Murphy, who has previously been linked to Michael Strahan and Eddie Murphy, insists any rumors of an affair are simply a big misunderstanding and that their kiss was completely innocent.
In a statement to B.Scott, the 51-year-old revealed, “Antoine and I are just family friends. I ran into him in Italy and we exchanged a friendly hello and that was it.”
Sharpe fans, who are well aware of his love for the mother of five, took to social media, assuming he may be heartbroken over the pictures.
However, the former football star seemed to brush off the rumors, optimistically replying to a fans tweet on Twitter. "They're just friends," he responded. "That's still my girl and I love her."
The FS1 host first made his crush on Murphy public on Twitter in 2017.
He has also mentioned her on his “Undisputed” show numerous times- so much, in fact, that a fan created a montage of him name-dropping Murphy, which she then responded to on Twitter.
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He even posted a picture of them together at the gym:
Neither the “Training Day” director or Rochon, 55, have publicly commented on the photos.
Rochon has since deactivated her Twitter and Instagram accounts after the pictures went viral.
