Female Usher fan, Jimalita Tillman, who went viral after a video circulated in which Usher seductively fed her cherries at his London show, is now suing US TV personality Shannon Sharpe for $ 20 million (approximately £15,058,000).

Former American footballer Sharpe has faced a series of blows to his reputation and career in recent years, most notably, in April he was hit with a $50 million rape lawsuit filed against him by one of his ex-girlfriends. Despite settling the suit, 57-year-old Sharpe was fired from his ESPN position this week, losing him a salary that some figures estimate as being as high as $7 million (£5, 266,000) annually. 

Sharpe's legal battles have continued waging and now Chicago woman Tillman is suing him for defamation after he allegedly made and disseminated “false and defamatory statements suggesting that [Tillman] was married and that [her] husband was filing for divorce due to [her] participation in this audience experience”. The “jokes” were shared by both Sharpe and his 'Nightcap' podcast co-host Chad Johnson and its production company, Shay Shay Media,. reportedly all three are now being sued by Tillman, after the single-mother and business director argued:

 "The defendants' false narratives were shared widely across their platforms, reaching millions of followers, viral spread and refutation efforts, despite my clear and public reputation of the false narrative…

The defendants continued to post the defamatory content across their social media platforms... 

I made numerous efforts to contact the defendants to request the removal of this false narrative, but these requests were disregarded."

Tillman is now arguing that the false statements have caused “significant harm to [her] character and reputation” and is reportedly seeking ten of millions in damages. In legal papers, Tillman who was serenaded by the Grammy-award winner in front of a 200,000 strong crowd, clarified her marital status, stating:

“I am not married, nor am I currently going through a divorce.

She continued: “I was not married at the time of the fan participation moment during the Usher concert.”

Neither Shannon and his team nor Usher have commented on the case, however one thing is clear, like the rest of the mounting list of Sharpe’s alleged scandals, this isn’t a lawsuit that will go away on its own. 

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