Stephen A. Smith is not holding back! The outspoken sports commentator recently fired back at critiques from Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) and TV host Joy Reid, declaring, “They should be ashamed of themselves.”
This isn’t the first time Stephen A. Smith and Crockett have clashed. Back in October 2025, Smith didn’t hold back on his SiriusXM show, ‘Straight Shooter with Stephen A.,’ criticizing Congresswoman Crockett’s approach to President Donald Trump. He voiced his frustration with how Democrats were handling the 2024 election, questioning their strategy and efficacy.
“You have a Democratic Party that knew they were getting our vote, would engage in demagoguery, scare the living hell out of us about what existed on the right, and as a result, they’d get our vote. All they had to do to get it was give us lip service about negative stuff about the other side.
However Jasmine Crockett chooses to express herself, I’m like, ‘Is that gonna help your district in Texas?’ Aren’t you there to get stuff done, as opposed to just be an impediment to what Trump wants?”
Smith continued to challenge Crockett, urging her to focus on tangible results over mere rhetoric. He later clarified his comments, claiming Crockett was “engaging in verbiage and rhetoric for the streets,” which, as you can imagine, sparked significant backlash, even from Crockett herself.
However, Smith did eventually offer an apology to Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett. He expressed, “I get it now, with [President] Trump feeding into that nonsense, giving him fodder or ammunition, to continue to go out there and talk about our Black women that way. I got it. I don’t like that at all. I don’t want to be associated with nothing like that, and I apologize because I respect the hell out of Jasmine Crockett and what she has accomplished. I absolutely do. And I appreciate the fact that she feels compelled to fight the way that she’s fought, the way that she fights because of what she’s dealing with.”
Stephen A. Smith Again Criticizes Jasmine Crockett And Joy Reid While Clapping Back At Their Criticisms Of Him
Fast forward to a recent ABC News interview (aired January 12, teased January 10) with host Linsey Davis. Smith was asked to address concerns about being labeled a “sellout” or “Uncle Tom.” When Davis presented clips of criticisms from Crockett and Reid, Smith’s response was sharp: “They should be ashamed of themselves. Where’s your evidence?”
Davis reminded him of his previous apology to Crockett. Smith clarified his apology, reiterating his stance against her rhetoric.
“They should be ashamed of themselves. Where’s your evidence? Let me tell you what I’ve apologized for. Trump followed-up what I said by calling her ‘low IQ,’ and stuff like that; which I find appalling. She’s a highly educated woman. She’s licensed to practice law in the state of Texas, Arkansas, and federally. She’s a United States Representative. She’s an influential, intelligent, decent, good, Black woman who cares a lot about Black people in this country. So, I apologized for assisting in any way this notion that it’s okay to say that about her, because I didn’t want any parts of that. But, I did feel that the situation was overblown. I was simply saying, is this cursing the president out and calling him a ‘piece of sh*t’ on national television, or in front of a national audience, going to help your constituency? I wanted to know the answer to that question.”
The conversation then shifted to Joy Reid. Smith stated he barely knows Reid, having only met her once, but proceeded to critique her again.
“Let me say something about Joy Reid. Let’s just get this out of the way. I don’t know this woman. I’ve met her one time. I shook her hand once. I’ve never spoken to her in my life. She’s responding that way because when she got fired by MSNBC, her show got cancelled, I spoke on it. What I said was she is a talent, highly intelligent woman. I respect her. The issue, however, is that if your numbers drop 47 percent, and you are Black, in this culture that we’re living in, did you really expect something else to happen? Of course they were going to do that to you. I’m looking at it and saying, ‘Okay, I get what you’re saying and you might be right. But, the manner in which you’re going about it, that ain’t going to serve to you well longterm.’”
Davis then posed a question about the perceived widespread criticism from Black women towards Smith, to which he retorted, “Uhh. Who are the many? Because I think they’re the few.” Following the clip’s release, Joy Reid promptly shared her initial reactions on Instagram, promising a full response on her show. The drama continues!
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