Appearing live on-set Monday on First Take alongside host Stephen A. Smith, recently-added panelist Shannon Sharpe got much more attention for the powder on his face than any of his football opinions.
Fans immediately noticed Sharpe spent a little extra time in the makeup chair at ESPN’s LA studios and took to social media to express their concern.
The makeup artist got Shannon Sharpe looking crazy on #FirstTake today. pic.twitter.com/unT48okvFF
— B E A N Z (Miss U Mom) (@BeanzGotGamez) October 16, 2023
Posters wondered whether ESPN’s makeup staff was accidentally preparing Sharpe for embalming, or whether Smith accidentally recruited American Idol host Randy Jackson, Tyler Perry as Madea, Ving Rhames, or “swole” Little Richard.
https://twitter.com/DamienProduces/status/1713918214877454674
That’s not necessarily nice, but it’s all in good fun.
Update: Sharpe addressed this discussion later:
Appreciate the concern over my makeup this morning on @FirstTake. This was her 1st time doing my makeup and it was a little heavy. My appearance is important not as important as my takes. Hopefully, the takes were gr8 as usual. #LipSparringChamp #BestDressed #Espn
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) October 16, 2023
I’ll live and still extremely blessed https://t.co/CKA9Fmsqsy
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) October 16, 2023
Our original post continues below:
It was a crazy 24 hours for Sharpe after he spent Sunday night telling listeners about his privacy boundaries with women.
This could all just be attributable to the studio change. Sharpe typically appears remotely when First Take shoots in its usual Seaport studios in New York City. With Smith in town, there might have been different makeup staff, or the new studio and lighting setup may have thrown everyone off.
Sharpe’s old cohost Skip Bayless once walked his audience through his self-applied makeup routine for Undisputed. It seems like Sharpe may have to go that route in order to avoid any more ESPN miscues and the wrath of the unrelenting First Take audience.
It’s been a great start for Sharpe on First Take. If a little too much makeup is the only negative publicity to come out of nearly a month of shows with record viewership, Sharpe will take that. So will ESPN.
The production team might just need to pay Sharpe back by taking a moment to make sure the Pro Football Hall of Famer looks a little more like himself next time he’s on set.
