Stephen A. Smith didn’t hold back this week on his SiriusXM show, and he named names while he was at it. He blasted Don Lemon, Jemele Hill, and Michelle Obama for what he described as a pattern of public criticism paired with private silence. Kamala Harris and Jasmine Crockett made his list too, and so did NABJ president Errin Haines. The monologue ran long, but it also raised a question Smith probably didn’t intend to ask about himself.
Here’s what he told his audience, word for word:
“I’ve invited Don Lemon on this show. Don Lemon wants to talk privately first, but he said a whole bunch of things publicly. President Errin Haines for NABJ — I’ve invited her on the show! She wants to talk privately after she spoke publicly. I’ve invited Jasmine Crockett on the show — crickets. I ain’t hear a word.
“I’ve invited Kamala Harris on the show — crickets. I ain’t hear a word — publicly. Privately, Kamala Harris and I already met face-to-face over a year ago. Two hours. Nobody brings that up. Michelle Obama has been invited on this show. Haven’t heard a word. Cari Champion and Jemele Hill have been invited on this show. I ain’t got no problems. Ladies and gentlemen … I really don’t have time for hatred in my heart. I certainly don’t hate any of these women. I’ve got nothing but love for them.”
That’s a lengthy roll call for one segment, and it’s also a lot of assumed motive delivered without much pushback. Smith frames every non-appearance as evasion, yet he never once considers that these figures might simply view his show differently than he does. Perhaps they don’t see it as the platform he believes it to be. Perhaps they’ve weighed the risk of a combative format against the reward and decided to pass. Either way, his monologue invites a question he didn’t ask himself: what does his guest list actually say about him?
A Question Smith Should Ask Himself
Smith built his career on confrontation, and that style has made First Take appointment viewing for over a decade. It’s also the exact reason some high-profile figures might steer clear of his SiriusXM program. Sitting across from Smith means signing up for cross-examination rather than conversation, and not everyone wants that kind of exposure. Consequently, skipping his show isn’t automatically a snub; it could simply be a calculated choice.
Additionally, Smith’s framing ignores an obvious possibility: timing. Politicians and media figures juggle packed schedules, so a single unanswered invite doesn’t necessarily signal disrespect. Meanwhile, private conversations — like the one Smith says he had with Harris — don’t always need a public sequel to matter. Nevertheless, Smith chose to publicize that snub rather than let the private meeting speak for itself.
Above all, Smith’s grievance reveals as much about his ego as it does about anyone’s avoidance. He wants credit for reaching out, and he wants an audience to witness the rejection when it happens. That’s a curious mix of generosity and score-keeping, and it undercuts his claim that there’s no hatred in his heart.
I heard directly from one of the people Smith named during his monologue, and their response complicates his narrative even further. Their stance was blunt: “I can’t ignore something I’ve never been asked to do.” That single line dismantles the premise that silence equals avoidance, since an unextended invitation can’t logically be ignored.
The Invitation Nobody Talks About
This source went a step further, and their follow-up claim reframes the entire dispute. According to them, their own producers had invited Smith onto their podcast, only to receive the same non-response Smith complained about publicly. If accurate, that detail turns Smith’s monologue into a case of projection rather than genuine grievance.
Therefore, the real story isn’t about who’s dodging Stephen A. Smith. It’s about a media figure who built a brand on accountability suddenly struggling to apply that standard to himself. Smith wants his invitations honored immediately, yet he apparently sat on one of his own. That’s not hypocrisy in the legal sense, but it’s close enough to raise eyebrows among anyone paying attention.
Ultimately, Smith is entitled to feel frustrated when high-profile guests decline his show. However, he isn’t entitled to a one-sided narrative where every absence gets treated as an insult. Silence can mean disinterest, sure, but it can also mean a scheduling conflict, a wariness of the format, or — in at least one case — an invitation that never actually arrived. Smith’s SiriusXM platform is influential, but influence doesn’t guarantee an audience owes him their time.
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.