Black Celeb Men Who’ve Had Their Careers Rocked By Sexual Scandals

As news of former University of Michigan football head coach Sherrone Moore continues to make waves in the news and on social media, it made us ponder about the myriad of celebrity men whose reputation and social status has been mired by sexual scandal.

Whether it involved consensual relationships, salacious affairs or more serious allegations like sexual assault and abuse, there’s unfortunately a long list of men who fall under the umbrella. While some cases and allegations have either been proven false, settled or fabricated entirely, let’s take a look at some men who’ve been hit professionally, financially and legally.

Shannon Sharpe

In one of the most surprising headlines of 2025, fans were shocked to hear that Shannon Sharpe was being sued for $50 million in a bombshell sexual assault lawsuit in April. Lobbed against him by an OnlyFans model Gabriella Zuniga, she claimed Sharpe physically abused her and even threatened to kill her. She was reportedly 19 at the time that they initially started dealing with each other. Sharpe is 56. Zuniga also accused Sharpe of rape and battery.

Sharpe denied any wrongdoing and alleged the two were engaged in a consensual relationship. The later settled the lawsuit for undisclosed terms.

Sherrone Moore

In news that’s currently taking the college sports world by storm, University of Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore was recently fired with cause, for engaging in an alleged inappropriate relationship with another university staff member. After news of his firing hit the fan, Moore was later taken into custody and transferred over to the Pittsfield Township Police Department where he was booked and charged with stalking, home invasion; and breaking and entering.

R. Kelly

Though allegations about R. Kelly’s deviant ways dated all the way back to the 90’s, justice wouldn’t be served until 2021 and 2022 when he was convicted on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking; and child pornography and exploitation charges, respectively. He’s currently serving a 30-year prison sentence in North Carolina for his first two charges related to his New York trial, overlapping a 20-year sentence for child porn charges in Chicago. 

Sean “Diddy” Combs

Perhaps the most recent and damning celeb to get rocked by sexual scandal in Sean “Diddy” Combs. Thanks to the bombshell sexual assault lawsuit filed by his longtime girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura in 2023, the proverbial dominoes have kept falling for the Bad Boy mogul who has since been sued and accused for multiple sexual assaults, drugging, and more. In July 2025, Diddy was found guilty of two counts of transporting for prostitution and was sentenced in October to over four years in prison, though he was acquitted of more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking.

Bill Cosby

America’s former favorite “dad” Bill Cosby had his shining light dimmed harshly once he was accused of sexual assault in 2004 by Andrea Constand. What came after that was a litany of even more allegations from various women who accused “The Cosby Show” star of everything from drugging to raping. In 2018, he was convicted on three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault in the case involving Constand and two other women. In June 2021, however, Cosby’s conviction was overturned. But, the following year, he was found civilly responsible for the rape of the then-16-year-old and has faced numerous lawsuits ever since.

Russell Simmons

As we’ve detailed, Russell Simmons has been accused of sexual assault by multiple women over the years. In the spring of 2024, he was finally served papers in Bali in relation to a defamation lawsuit filed by famed and acclaimed writer, producer and activist Drew Dixon.

A month prior, Dixon filed the suit in New York’s state Supreme Court and alleged Simmons enacted a “concerted and malicious campaign to discredit” her previous allegations of sexual assault and rape at the hands of Simmons that were made public back in 2017. He’s been living and working in Bali ever since and has never been arrested or charged in connection to Dixon’s claims.

Trey Songz

Singer Trey Songz has been accused multiple times of sexual assault, sexual intimidation and even rape over the years. His allegations stem from various Jane Does to notable faces like Keke Palmer. While he has been cleared in a few cases, others remain pending.

Tristan Thompson

In 2018, NBA star Tristan Thompson’s name was all over the news, but it wasn’t because of his basketball prowess. Instead, it was for his cheating on then girlfriend Khloe Kardashian while she was pregnant with their daughter. Not too long after that, never-before-seen footage of Thompson out in Washington D.C. surfaced where he could be seen getting real cozy with two other women a year prior. He was then accused of kissing Kardashian family friend Jordyn Woods in 2019 and later was entangled in a paternity scandal in 2022.

Chris Brown

Whew, where do we begin with Chris Brown? While most of his legal issues stem from assault cases and allegations, he’s also been accused over the years of rape in 2020, sexual assault in 2018 and rape again in 2019. While some of these charges were dropped altogether, it doesn’t appear that the accusations have done much to hamper his success too much as evidenced by the turnout for his Breezy Bowl Tour.

Nate Parker

While doing press for his 2016 film, “The Birth of a Nation,” stories began circulating about Nate Parker’s 1999 scandal in which he was accused of raping an 18-year-old freshman as a student at Pennsylvania State University while she was allegedly intoxicated and unconscious. Jean McGianni Celestin who shared a story credit with Parker for the film was also accused of assaulting the same young woman that evening and was found guilty. Though Celestin was convicted, it was later overturned on appeal and not retried. 

Though Parker was acquitted, his professional reputation took a severe hit and he’s been working to get back in Hollywood’s good graces.

Cuba Gooding Jr.

In 2019, Cuba Gooding Jr. pleaded guilty to charges of forcible touching, stemming from several accusations of sexual misconduct that allegedly took place, At the time, he offered an apology to his alleged victims and subsequently completed six months of alcohol and behavior modification counseling. As a result, the plea was downgraded to a non-criminal harassment violation, which meant he wouldn’t be serving any jail time and also avoided a criminal record.

In August 2020, an unidentified woman filed a civil lawsuit against Gooding Jr., alleging that he raped her twice in 2013. She sued the Oscar-winning actor for a “crime of violence” under the New York City Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act. However, in June 2023, mere minutes before the “Radio” actor was set to go on trial and jury selection was about to begin, a deal was met between the two parties. Additional details confirmed that the case was settled for an unspecified amount.

Ime Udoka

In 2022, the professional sports world was rocked once again when it was revealed that then-Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka allegedly had a consensual affair with a female Celtics employee. This deep mistrust caused the 13-year-long relationship he had with Nia Long to understandably dissolve. Further drama followed as Udoka was suspended for the 2022-2023 season, citing “multiple policy violations.” But both folks in the media and others inside the industry criticized how the situation was handled and publicized.

Mystikal

In 2022, the No Limit,” rapper was arrested and booked in a Louisiana jail on charges of first-degree rape, simple robbery, domestic abuse, false imprisonment and superficial criminal damage to property. He was later indicted on those same charges and faced a life sentence in prison if convicted. He’s been held without bond ever since and is set to go to trial March 30, 2026.