Tempers flared, and sparks flew during a Jemele Hill interview with controversial sports broadcaster Stephen A. Smith over his MAGA sellout and giving right-wing media personalities a platform.
Then Hill, a sports journalist and independent media entrepreneur, shut down his defense with three words, including the F-bomb.
The fiery exchange occurred on Hill and Cari Champion’s YouTube podcast “Flagrant and Funny” in a dramatic three-hour discussion between the three former ESPN colleagues. The first part of the show aired on Wednesday, Sept. 2.
During the conversation, Hill told Smith she didn’t appreciate the guests he invited on his show or his appearances on Fox News.
One example is Smith’s high-profile debate with right-wing MAGA sycophant and political commentator Ben Shapiro. Hill criticized Smith at the time for giving Shapiro and other conservative media figures’ views a platform.
And she took issue with his regular appearances on Fox
“Fox News is the most anti-Black news station I think I’ve ever seen in my life,” she said during the Wednesday show. “You know what they constantly do all the time? Fear-mongering. They make us– we’re their target practice all day. And I’m like, why? Why is that the choice?”
But she wasn’t done.
“And not just them. It’s like, yo, man. I saw you do– I watched your conversation with Ben Shapiro, man. And I’m going just say, fu*k Ben Shapiro. And the reason I say that because when he said that about Trayvon Martin, and his consistent comments about him, dead to me. Maybe that’s where we’re just different,” Hill told Smith in no uncertain terms.
A Broken Defense
One of the topics Shapiro has raised and criticized is former President Barack Obama’s response to the 2012 shooting death of unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. A 28-year-old man and community watch volunteer, George Zimmerman, shot Martin after a scuffle. Protests erupted across the country demanding justice for Trayvon.
Hill said she was disturbed by the right-wingers Smith gives a platform to because, “I see you sometimes constantly in the company of [those] who dismiss our humanity.”
Smith doubled down in trying to defend himself, claiming that talking to those who he disagrees with is important.
“There’s a whole bunch of things that I say against conservatives and Republicans. I argue with [Sean Hannity] all the damn time, but I have his ear because what I’m not in his face, or that of Republicans doing or anybody else, [saying], ‘You racist, no-good bastard. This is who you are. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,’” Smith claimed.
“Because you have Black people who are conservatives that don’t feel that way. They’re Black like us, but their ideology, their belief system, and what their foundation and principles stand on, this is where they stand. And they have factual evidence to support them, especially against the Democratic Party,” he insisted.
Smith went on to say that as a journalist and now a commentator and pundit, he talks to everyone.
‘Jemele Brought Receipts!’
YouTube viewers didn’t buy it, erupting in derision and outrage.
“Damn! Jemele brought receipts!” this viewer proclaimed.
Another laid into Smith.
“Stephen A. Smith’s reaction to critique reveals a clear pattern: when challenged by men, it’s sports debate; when challenged by women, he recasts it as personal ingratitude, clout-chasing, or emotional betrayal,” they pointed out, but they weren’t finished.
“Citing his mother, daughters, or payroll as a shield doesn’t erase an ongoing intolerance for equal accountability. True respect for women isn’t just about handing out opportunities behind the scenes; it’s about accepting their right to critique him without defaulting to patronizing attacks.”
Others chimed in.
“End of the day, SAS doesn’t want to get it. He’s reached a position of power, wealth, and ego that the obvious doesn’t compute to him anymore. Total waste of time. The evidence dating back years in how he moves against his own vs the YT man is literally disturbing. The excuses and lies he tells is insane.”
Not everyone agreed.
Instagram poster @marcelmarshall4240 saw it differently.
“He is saying it is not worth it to say certain things…and he is correct. Talking about Trump is not going to change a thing, and now NONE of these women have the lucrative jobs they had…and are mad about it. They should listen to him.”
