Stephen A. Smith recently sat down with ABC’s Linsey Davis to discuss a wide range of topics, including Joy Reid’s criticism surrounding his comments about herself, Kamala Harris, Michelle Obama, Jasmine Crockett and other prominent political figures, according to The Grio.
“She’s responding that way because when she got fired by MSNBC, her show got canceled … I spoke on it,” Smith told Davis. “I said she is a talented, highly intelligent woman. I respect her. The issue is, if your numbers drop 47% and you are Black, in this culture that we are 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 I’m saying, ‘I get it and you might be right.’ But the manner in which you’re going about it, that ain’t gonna serve you well long term.”
When Davis asked Smith about the Black women who spoke out against his comments, he said only a “few” Black women had said that about him.
Joy Reid to Stephen A. Smith: ‘You got a lot of smoke for Black folk’
As Blavity reported, Reid had a few choice words for Smith during her appearance on the podcast Naked Sports with Cari Champion in December 2025. She also addressed his recent comments on Monday during her Substack live show.
“I want you all to notice that he did not answer Linsey Davis’ question,” Reid said. “He just did his ‘I just have so much respect for these sistas’ schtick before attacking Jasmine Crockett and me with his same old bulls**t.”
Reid also dismissed Smith’s claims that her low ratings led to the cancellation of her MSNBC show, The Reid Out, noting that her ratings were high around the time the network let her go.
“That’s weird, Stephen,” Reid said. “Because I thought your whole schtick was, ‘You gotta prove it’s about race. And it’s not about race.’ But now it is about race? Does this mean that people who are Black that work at MS NOW should be fired, based on your formula?”
Reid then played several clips of Smith speaking ill of well-known Black people and reiterated her grievances against him: “You got a lot of smoke for Black folk, but when it comes to Charlie Kirk, Donald Trump, you have no smoke for them. If you’ve been criticizing the right as you’ve been attacking people on the other side, I need to see those clips. And Stephen, I just didn’t find the same smoke for the pro-facist side, the pro-racist side, the anti-diversity side as I found attacks by you, Stephen, against anybody Black who has a prominent platform.”
Joy Reid warns Stephen A. Smith that he ‘may not have a home in Black America to come home to’
Reid also addressed Smith’s comments defending the ICE agent who fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minnesota earlier this month. During his podcast show Straight Shooter with Stephen A. Smith, Smith told viewers that the shooting was “justified.” In contrast, he also called out the ICE agent, stating that he did not have to kill her.
Reid suggested that Smith stick to what he knows best, which is sports.
“From a lawful perspective, I think you might need to stick to sports,” Reid said. “What I’m saying, Stephen, personally, is that you wouldn’t have an education without men like Cleveland Sellers, nor the freedom to be loud and wrong while claiming Jasmine Crockett is loud and wrong, while you’re crying out for people to respect Donald Trump.”
She added, “Without the people who are willing to agitate, there would be no President Obama, no First Lady Obama for you to sh-t on, no me, no Don Lemon, no Linsey Davis for you to fail to answer her question. But most of us, including the many Black men and women who you disrespected over the years, we know that. It’s a pity you have that big ol’ platform, which I sure hope your loud, dumbass takes don’t jeopardize from your day job, brah. Don’t sh-t on your main bag by saying dumb s**t on your podcast, that’s just my free advice to you. Cause either you don’t know s**t, or you just don’t care.”
She concluded her critique of Smith with the following statement: “I promise you, Stephen, when the unspicy whites are done with you… You may not have a home in Black America to come home to.”