“First Take” host Stephen A. Smith is furious with his former ESPN colleagues, Jemelle Hill and Cari Champion. According to Smith, he was asked to appear on Champion and Hill’s podcast, “Flagrant and Funny,” and said he agreed only because he was promised the entire interview would be released unedited. According to him, that did not happen. So, on his “Straight Shooter” segment, the ESPN mainstay laid into them both, calling them out for allegedly going against their agreed-upon terms.
A simple thank you would have sufficed. pic.twitter.com/nnt7kP6Yey
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) September 6, 2026
“Something that happened alarmed me and it’s going to alter the way I decided to do business moving forward with you two,” Smith said during the segment, which has been shared online. “Before the interview took place, I specifically requested that the entire interview from start to finish be unedited and was promised that that would occur.”
According to Smith, an “amateur can look at the show … and can see clearly it’s been edited.” Smith said he found the encounter disheartening because “somebody on their team assured somebody on my team that it would be unedited because I didn’t want any edits. I wanted everybody to see every word that was uttered, I wanted them to see every facial expression … that didn’t happen.”
Smith Says His Alleged Encounter With Ex-ESPN Staffers Has Changed The Way He’ll Do Business Moving Forward
In addition to the YouTube interview with Smith, Hill, and Champion, which included some edits, the “First Take” host said he was disappointed that the comments on the video had been disabled.
“The comments were turned off. Why is that? I didn’t expect that,” he said. “You see, if you’re going to come at me, especially after I gave you three hours of my life, could you at least have honored my request. I have nothing to hide. As I assured y’all, I said some things Cari flat out denied. I cant speak to her memory. I can only speak to my facts.”
Smith went on to say that he would not be “doing any more interviews on YouTube without folks agreeing” to terms, including posting the unedited interview, leaving the comment section open, and providing him with a copy of the video.
Why Stephen A. Smith Thinks Hill And Champion Should Thank Him For Appearing On His Podcast
According to Smith, he is bothered by how his appearance on Hill and Champion’s podcast played out, noting that his presence gave them more attention than ever.
The 58-year-old noted that before he agreed to appear on “Flagrant and Funny,” the show had 9,000 subscribers on YouTube. Following his episode, it had 30,000.
“They’ve had over 1 million views [and] 500,000 over YouTube, but Cari Champion is saying she doesn’t know if [if their conversation] did them any good,” he said. “A simple thank you would have sufficed. That would have been nice.”
He continued, “I did take time out of my busy schedule. How many people do you know that sit down with somebody for three hours? But that’s what I did, because of my respect for two former colleagues. and in the case of one, which is that of Cari Champion, reciprocation seems to be a hard thing to come by. Fine.”
Hill Responds To Smith
I hate to even address this because it’s feeding a false narrative. The FULL interview is out on iHeart, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and has been that way from the beginning. An editing mistake occurred involving the video — and no, Cari and I don’t have… https://t.co/v01RQ96GaH
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 7, 2026
Smith’s fiery response to Hill and Champion caught the attention of many, including NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal, who shared the ESPN staple’s comments on his social media page.
Hill responded following Shaq’s post and dismissed Smith’s “false narrative.” She explained that the “FULL interview” has been shared on iHeart, Apple Podcasts, or “where you get your podcasts and has been that way from the beginning.”
Hill confirmed that a portion of the video had been edited due to a production mistake. “This mistake was shared with Stephen A’s team, and they were also provided a full transcript as well as told exactly how it happened. Nothing nefarious occurred. Trust me, there is no smoking gun in the unseen video footage and you can go to the audio and listen for yourselves. The 20 minutes that is alleged to be missing is ALL there in the audio version,” she finished.
Champion Issues What Appears To Be A Sarcastic Response
Champion replied in what appeared to be a sarcastic manner following Smith’s comments. “You’re right, I should’ve said, ‘Thank you.’ I am now realizing every one of my words will be policed, and I thank you,” she said. “I’m not even speaking for Jemelle Hill. I’m speaking for me; thanks for coming on ‘Flagrant and Funny.’ We really honestly appreciate it. Have a good day.”
