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Stephen A. Smith has hit back at Michelle Obama.
The former First Lady took a jab at Smith’s employer, ESPN, name-dropping the longtime host and saying the network’s shows were like watching reality television, namely “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.”
“It’s all a sociological study. They think that sports is better reality TV, I’m like, ‘It’s the same thing.’ If I listen to ESPN for an hour, it’s like watching the ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta,’ you know?” Obama said on her brother Craig’s “IMO” podcast. “It’s the same drama, and they’re yelling at each other, and they don’t get along, you know? I mean, Stephen A. Smith, he’s just like every other. . . .
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Stephen A. Smith reports from the sideline during Game 4 of the 2025 NBA Western Conference Finals on May 26, 2025, at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, while Michelle Obama during SXSW Conference & Festivals at the Austin Convention Center on March 13, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (Getty Images)
“So, that’s why I’m like, ‘what’s the difference?’ It’s just, you know, it’s just sociological drama,” added Obama. “I mean, the fact that people over seasons of working still can’t get along. They still have the same arguments, you know, and it’s not just women. But this happens in sports, too. I find it fascinating.”
Those comments found their way to Smith himself, and he used them as an opportunity not necessarily to respond back, but voice his opinion on one of her strategies while campaigning for Kamala Harris last year.
“When you were campaigning on behalf of the former Vice President Kamala Harris … you said a vote for [President Donald] Trump was a vote against you and a vote against y’all as women. I want to say for the record – I took major offense to that.” Smith admitted.
“I think to this day is the only thing that I didn’t like that you said, I didn’t appreciate it. Because there’s so many things that go into deciding where your vote is going to go. For some people, it’s all about the economy. For others, it’s all about national security. For some people, it is immigration. For some people, it’s safety in the streets of America. Long before they think about pro-choice or pro-life.”
Former First Lady Michelle Obama on the set of her podcast in June. (Michelle Obama YouTube channel)
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Smith reiterated that he voted for Harris and “wouldn’t vote for Trump,” but “wasn’t excited” how casting his vote for the former vice president “particularly after I heard about some of the shenanigans that the Democratic Party was engaging in leading up to the election.
“But I’m talking specifically to you, Madam First Lady. You are not just beloved, you are revered. You are sensational in so many ways. I’ve been on the record on this show and many others stating had you run for president, you would have beat Trump. I still believe that … I believe if your husband elected to come back, he would beat Trump. That’s my personal belief . . .” Smith continued.
Smith then got into Obama’s comments about ESPN, saying he disagreed with those as well.
“So this doesn’t have anything to do with what you were talking about, how sports and reality TV mirror one another, even though we would beg to differ. Because a lot of things on reality TV are made-up situations and scenarios to provoke reactions and all of that stuff. We’re at sports, that’s live entertainment, and you’re actually competing against one another is big time. No, reality TV is not like that. You’re so wrong about that, about that assertion, but that’s neither here nor there. . . .
“You will never hear me utter a negative word about you, but I respectfully disagreed and still remain pretty salty about what you said about us,” Smith said, adding that he felt Obama “sort of blackmail[ed] us emotionally into trying to compel us to vote one way or another.”
Stephen A. Smith at the Disney 2024 upfront presentation held at North Javits Center on May 14, 2024, in New York City. (Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty Images)
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Perhaps we may get another episode of this apparent Obama-Smith beef.
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