Joy Reid accuses Stephen A. Smith of denigrating Black women for white people’s pleasure

Stephen A. Smith blamed Joy Reid being fired by MSNBC (MS NOW) on ratings and viewership, and she responded by taking a look at his own numbers.

Reid joined the latest episode of Naked Sports with Cari Champion, where the conversation turned to the face of ESPN. Champion recently had her own feud with Smith after urging him to respond to Michelle Beadle with the same vitriol she believes he holds when feuding with Black women. And Reid’s issue with Smith appears to stem from the way he discussed her exit from MSNBC.

Reid was abruptly fired by MSNBC earlier this year. And when Smith addressed the topic on his YouTube show, he cited a drop in Reid’s viewership from 1.4 million leading up to the 2024 presidential election to 778,000 near the end of her tenure last February. The commentary led Reid to assume Smith must be speaking from a place that holds an audience in the millions.

“He said I got fired for ratings, and I’m like, ‘Excuse me, sir. You got 100 million dollars for a show with half my ratings at my worst.’ I had to literally Google his numbers,” Reid said. “I’m like, ‘How many people listen to his show? Is it like 4 million people?’ Dude, that’s like average CNN. That’s not that high.”

Smith often touts First Take as being “number one.” And in terms of sports programming on TV in the 10 a.m. – noon window, it is number one. But it’s not the top-rated show on TV during those hours. There are differences when comparing Reid’s audience to Smith’s, however, starting with the day parts both shows aired. Reid’s show was in primetime, while Smith’s is a late morning show. And just comparing their viewership numbers doesn’t speak to the revenue Smith likely brings to ESPN.

But Reid surmised it’s not even about the ratings or revenue that Smith brings to ESPN that garnered him the big contract; it’s about what he’s willing to say and who he’s willing to provoke.

“They’re paying you, not for your number, my friend. They’re paying you because you are willing to say the nasty things about Black people that they want to say,” Reid continued. “You’re willing to take their denigration of Black women and put it in the mouth of a Negro. And because you’re willing to put the denigration of Black women in particular into a Negro’s mouth, you now think that ‘Oh, I must be a freaking political genius.’ But just be clear, you’re not being paid for your numbers, you’re being paid for what you’re willing to do to us for white people’s entertainment.”

In recent weeks and months, Smith has criticized Michelle Obama, Cari Champion, Jemele Hill, and Jasmine Crockett, all of whom are Black women. And you can bet Reid will now garner a response as well. He’s certainly willing to call out Black women, but he has pushed back on the notion that they’re calculated attacks.

Reid used much stronger commentary, but her take about Smith isn’t too dissimilar from Dan Le Batard recently accusing the First Take host of being a “tool” for the right. Both criticisms accuse Smith of being a mouthpiece and attempt to dismiss his own opinions. But they are his takes and opinions. And maybe his political and social takes are what lands Smith a show on SiriusXM or invites to Fox News, but those probably aren’t what ESPN is paying $100 million for.