Music legend Usher is now embroiled in what some are calling ‘Herpesgate’ after three accusers have announced legal action against the entertainer. One of these accusers is Quantasia Sharpton, who stated during a press conference that she had unprotected sex with Usher after a concert when she turned 19. Sharpton has stated that Usher did not reveal his health status and he may have knowingly exposed her to herpes.
There are multiple issues when it comes to Sharpton’s story that has people questioning her motivation. Among these issues was her decision to have unprotected sex with a complete stranger, the very example of high-risk sexual behavior that has caused HIV and other STD rates to skyrocket in the Black community. It is being reported by media outlet TMZ that Sharpton has multiple social media aliases with one being Angel Valentino. According to one post by Sharpton in social media, “I go by Angel cause my name is clearly ghetto and hard to pronounce.”
Almost a week before her press conference, Sharpton posted to Facebook under the user name Angel Valentino, “I need some money” and on the morning of her press conference, “Enjoying my last couple of hours as a regular girl.”
One can clearly see that she was expecting to be in the spotlight as she was represented by attorney Lisa Bloom. Last month, leaked court documents revealed that Usher paid a celebrity stylist Maya Fox Davis an estimated $1M to settle a lawsuit where she claimed Usher infected her with herpes in 2012. Davis prevailed in the lawsuit because Usher was found to have “consciously and purposefully” withheld his herpes diagnosis from Davis “and continued to have unprotected sex.”
