"You will never hear me utter a negative word" : Stephen A Smith feels "pretty salty" about Michelle Obama likening his ESPN show to RHOA

Stephen A Smith has taken "major offense" to Former First Lady Michelle Obama's words after she said that Smith is "just like every other talk show host."

American talk show host Stephen A. Smith took to his show on August 2, 2025, to respond to Michelle Obama's critique of him. Smith questioned Michelle's reality-TV comparison of ESPN, which she made during an appearance on August 1 episode of her IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson podcast.

Smith went on to challenge Michelle for her comparison of reality TV to ESPN, and her campaign claim, while showing support for Kamala Harris, which said, "a vote for Trump was a vote against women."

"When you were campaigning on behalf of the former Vice President Kamala Harris...you said a vote for 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."

He explained that Michelle's statement is the "only thing that I didn't like that you said," and noted that there are "so many things that go into deciding where your vote is going to go," and mentioned that different people have different priorities.

"For some people, it's all about the economy. For others, it's all about national security. For some people, it's immigration. For some people, it's safety in th estreets of America. Long before they think about pro-choice or pro-life."

Smith clarified that while he voted for Harris, he wasn't excited about it after he heard "about some of the shenanigans that the Democratic Party was engaging in leading up to the election."

Smith, while responding to the claims, said that Michelle is "beloved", "revered," and is "sensational in so many ways" that if she or Barack Obama were to run for president, they would have beaten Trump. He also disagreed with her opinion on reality TV and ESPN, and said,

"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."

What did Michelle Obama say about Stephen A. Smith?

On an August 1, 2025, episode of the IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson podcast, the former First Lady criticised ESPN shows, which is also Smith's employer.

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"If I listen to ESPN for an hour, it's like watching The Real Housewives of Atlanta. It's the same drama...they're yelling at each other...Stephen A. Smith...he's just like every other talk show host."

She questioned the difference between ESPN and reality TV, and mentioned that both are "just sociological drama". She highlighted that people in both scenarios have worked "over seasons" and "still can't get along", mentioning that they have the "same arguments."

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