Jimalita Tillman accepted a settlement in her defamation lawsuit against Shay Shay Media. Tillman is more than a viral moment. She is more than a caricature and a trending topic. However, due to her viral moment, engaging with Usher as he performed his Confessions tour teaser, she has been talked about in the news cycle. One of the prominent voices amplifying false narratives was the Shannon Sharpe podcast, Night Cap. Inaccurate information about the single mother, founder of the Harold Washington Cultural Center, homeschool advocate, and playwright, spread swiftly.
The lack of care, concern, and due diligence by media companies led Tilman to take action. She is taking irresponsible journalism to task. Tilman wants to sound the alarm about the “lack of governance and oversight” in the podcast industry. As individual podcasters garner tens of millions of views, they are not held to journalistic standards. Tilman spoke with BLACK ENTERPRISE about the lawsuit, fake news, and the harmful effects of slander on non-media-facing professionals.
What prompted you to file a $20 million defamation suit against Shannon Sharpe and his financial backers?
A fun fan participation moment at an Usher concert turned into a scandal. People said, ‘This woman is married, and she doesn’t respect her husband.” I am a single mother, but the false narrative being spread was that I embarrassed and disrespected my non-existent husband causing him to file for divorce. I did a lot of national media. Many publications were able to retract, get it right, and put out the real story in less than 24 hours. A week later, many outlets still carried the story that was not true.
Can you elaborate on how this incident impacted your daily life, both professionally and personally?
I can’t enter a room and speak as a single mom who was able to move forward in the world of homeschooling, without that question coming up. Or without having to address this elephant in the room. Or without having to deal with the whispers. That’s why I feel like there needs to be oversight. There needs to be regulation. There needs to be policy put in place for anyone who calls themselves a media company.
What finally made you take legal action months after the incident?
I asked [Club Shay Shay] to take it down. They eventually made the video on YouTube private, but they didn’t take it down. Furthermore, they refused to issue an apology. I kept asking. I kept emailing. I kept sending letters, and finally, on April 24, I went ahead and filed.
You indicated the company acknowledged your messages but took no action. How did their response, or lack thereof, influence your decision to escalate the matter legally?
I noticed that other podcast systems and entities were beginning to pick up the story. They spoke like it was fact and cited Club Shay Shay as their journalistic source.
You’ve criticized podcast platforms for what you call a lack of fact‑checking. What reforms or standards would you like to see in podcast journalism?
There is no recourse when someone who has access to two chairs in a microphone says something egregious. They’re not mandated to take it down, to retract, or any of that.
There’s no governance in podcasting or streaming, which is a multibillion-dollar industry. It’s the Wild West, and they are self-regulating and self-governing, unlike authentic journalistic avenues. There needs to be a checks-and-balances system.
On Aug. 7, Tillman reached a settlement in her defamation lawsuit and provided BE with the following statement:
“I am pleased with the outcome. We were able to put this matter behind us without a long, drawn-out court matter. We look forward to future discussions about the positive contributions Mr. Sharpe and I both make to the community. I wish him, his family, and his business endeavors continued success.”
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