Stephen A. Smith is clapping back at criticism from Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) and TV host Joy Reid, claiming, “They should be ashamed of themselves.”
RELATED: Stephen A. Smith Goes Off On Jasmine Crockett Over Her Criticism Of Donald Trump
Stephen A. Smith Apologizes To Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett After Condemning Her ‘Rhetoric For The Streets’
Smith has been very outspoken about Rep. Crockett in the past. In early October 2025, Smith went nuclear on the Congresswoman over her criticism of President Donald Trump. Taking to his SiriusXM show, ‘Straight Shooter with Stephen A.,’ he made it clear that he was not impressed with how the Democrats were handling the 2024 election. He said:
“You have a Democratic Party that knew they were getting our vote, would engage in demagoguery, scare the living hell out of us about what existed on the right, and as a result, they’d get our vote. All they had to do to get it was give us lip service about negative stuff about the other side.
However Jasmine Crockett chooses to express herself, I’m like, ‘Is that gonna help your district in Texas?’ Aren’t you there to get stuff done, as opposed to just be an impediment to what Trump wants?”
Smith continued to challenge Crockett and urged her to focus on results instead of rhetoric. The sports and political commentator received tons of backlash, even from Crockett, and he later addressed it. Taking to his show again, Smith doubled down while also clarifying his comments, claiming Crockett is “engaging in verbiage and rhetoric for the streets.”
RELATED: Stephen A. Smith Speaks Out After Receiving Backlash For His Comments About Jasmine Crockett
Eventually, Stephen A. Smith issued an apology to Jasmine Crockett. He said:
“I get it now, with [President] Trump feeding into that nonsense, giving him fodder or ammunition, to continue to go out there and talk about our Black women that way. I got it. I don’t like that at all. I don’t want to be associated with nothing like that, and I apologize because I respect the hell out of Jasmine Crockett and what she has accomplished. I absolutely do. And I appreciate the fact that she feels compelled to fight the way that she’s fought, the way that she fights because of what she’s dealing with.”
RELATED: Stephen A. Smith Issues Apology To Jasmine Crockett After Criticism Over His ‘Rhetoric For The Streets’ Comment
Stephen A. Smith Again Criticizes Jasmine Crockett And Joy Reid While Clapping Back At Their Criticisms Of Him
On Saturday (January 10), ABC News teased an interview with Smith, dropping on Monday evening (January 12). In one teaser, host Linsey Davis asked Smith to address his previous thoughts of not wanting to be perceived as a “sellout” or an “Uncle Tom.” Davis then shared a clip of previous criticisms shared by Crockett and Reid. Smith’s immediate reaction? He told Davis, “They should be ashamed of themselves. Where’s your evidence?”
Davis continued to push back and remind Smith that he already “apologized” to Crockett over his past criticisms of her. He then offered a clarification for his previous apology and then continued to double down on criticizing her.
“They should be ashamed of themselves. Where’s your evidence? Let me tell you what I’ve apologized for. Trump followed-up what I said by calling her ‘low IQ,’ and stuff like that; which I find appalling. She’s a highly educated woman. She’s licensed to practice law in the state of Texas, Arkansas, and federally. She’s a United States Representative. She’s an influential, intelligent, decent, good, Black woman who cares a lot about Black people in this country. So, I apologized for assisting in any way this notion that it’s okay to say that about her, because I didn’t want any parts of that. But, I did feel that the situation was overblown. I was simply saying, is this cursing the president out and calling him a ‘piece of sh*t’ on national television, or in front of a national audience, going to help your constituency? I wanted to know the answer to that question.”
Davis then asked Smith his thoughts about Joy Reid. Smith claimed he hardly knows her and went on to criticize her again.
“Let me say something about Joy Reid. Let’s just get this out of the way. I don’t know this woman. I’ve met her one time. I shook her hand once. I’ve never spoken to her in my life. She’s responding that way because when she got fired by MSNBC, her show got cancelled, I spoke on it. What I said was she is a talent, highly intelligent woman. I respect her. The issue, however, is that if your numbers drop 47 percent, and you are Black, in this culture that we’re 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 saying, ‘Okay, I get what you’re saying and you might be right. But, the manner in which you’re going about it, that ain’t going to serve to you well longterm.’”
Davis then asked, “Why is it that many Black women have had this criticism on Stephen A. Smith?” Smith quipped, “Uhh. Who are the many? Because I think they’re the few.” Since the clip being published, Reid has offered an initial reaction on her Instagram. She shared a video of her live-reacting to the clip and then said she would fully address Smith’s commentary on her show, due to air on Monday (January 12).
RELATED: Stephen A. Smith Reacts To Michelle Obama Claiming America Isn’t Ready For A Female President: ‘I Believe She Could Win It All If She Ran; Run, Michelle, Run Or Stop Blaming Men’
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