Mo’Nique Defends Shannon Sharpe Following Sexual Assault …

Mo’Nique won’t turn her back on Shannon Sharpe: She voiced her support for the former NFL player on Instagram Live this week.

A little over a year after the actress-comedian was a guest on Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast, Mo’Nique on Wednesday (Aug. 13) called the podcaster her “brother” on Instagram Live.

Last month, Sharpe reached a settlement after a woman accused him of sexual assault. The plaintiff was represented by attorney Tony Buzbee, and the parties came to a confidential but “mutually agreed‑upon resolution” after the woman sought $50 million for sexual assault, battery, and emotional distress.

“Everyone keeps asking me how I feel about Shannon Sharpe. That’s my brother and I love him. That’s how I feel. That’s it,” Monique said in the video below.

The Academy Award winner went on to warn viewers to “be careful” in their “judgments” of Sharpe.

“We’ve all not walked the perfect line, we’ve all had mistakes, we’ve all taken a fall, we’ve all had to get up and get to going again,” she continued. “So, that is my brother, and I love my brother.”

Monique added, “I know what it feels like to be thrown away. I know what it feels like for people to quit on you and give up on you. That won’t be me. Shannon Sharpe? That’s Shay Shay, baby. We love him.”

The entertainer also condemned her stand-up audiences for bashing Sharpe during live shows.

“I was doing a show in one city, one night, somebody said his name and I heard this woman in the crowd and she said, ‘Boo,’ and I said, ‘Bitch, no, you won’t do that. No, you will not do that. No ma’am,'” she continued. “Whatever you feeling about my brother, if you ain’t got something nice to say, be quiet.”

Mo’Nique also encouraged viewers to “go within” to “not be so quick to give our opinion on shit.” While on Club Shay Shay, The Deliverance star was among those who warned Sharpe about pursuing younger women, which the host laughed off.

“This is your auntie talking to you,” Mo’Nique said in the episode. “Take your old ass and get you an old bitch that can love you old. You’re trying to hang out with these young bitches and you can’t do it, Shannon. You just can’t do it!”

The retired professional football player denied the accusations made in the lawsuit. His lawyer, Lanny J. Davis, said that Sharpe and the woman had a “consensual, adult relationship that included role-playing, sexual language, and fantasy scenarios,” per The New York Post.

Amid the lawsuit, Sharpe was let go by ESPN.