Stephen A. Smith sat down with Cari Champion and Jemele Hill for nearly three hours for a multi-part episode of their Flagrant and Funny podcast this week. After months of going back and forth on social media and via their own shows, the group cleared the air on everything from politics to their shared time at the Worldwide Leader to Smith’s public treatment of black women.
Tempers flared at times, but the podcast ended with the trio exchanging their best compliments towards each other. As productive and insightful as it was to see the group engage in honest, open dialogue about their disagreements in a public forum, Smith has reservations about how Champion and Hill handled things after the episode was recorded.
“I’m not doing any more interviews on YouTube without folks agreeing to make sure that it is completely unedited and that the comment section remains open and that I get a video copy of the interviews that I do. I don’t think that’s unreasonable to ask for,” Smith said on his Straight Shooter with Stephen A. podcast.
“I don’t think that I should sit down for 3 hours feeling I was promised — my team was promised an unedited version that would be put out there to the masses, and that I’m deprived of that. I don’t appreciate that. I want that interview, Carri, Jemele, and to your team. I want that interview in its entirety put up for everybody to see, showing what was cut out.”
Stephen A. Smith says he did the interview with Cari Champion and Jemele Hill in good faith because they were his former colleagues. They then turned around and acted like they didn’t know whether the episode even benefited them. Before that, they were at 9K subscribers; now… https://t.co/aRH9tV8QVj pic.twitter.com/NSvXyVCc0I
— NBA Hoops (@Thechat101) September 6, 2026
Smith also took umbridge with the comment section on YouTube being disabled for the episode and not receiving a copy of the interview to post on his own channel.
“I want the comment section back opened, and I want a copy of that interview with the freedom to put it on my channel if I so choose,” he asserted.
Smith went on to read a response he received from Champion and Hill’s team explaining that the edit of the interview was simply a production mistake and that comments were disabled for part two of the interview because of “extremely abusive and threatening comments” left on part one. He denounced the hate and vitriol being directed at the women, but made it clear he’d appreciate some thanks for agreeing to sit down with the pair.
“A simple thank you would have sufficed,” Smith said. “That would have been nice. I did. Take time out of my busy schedule. How many people do you know sit down with somebody for 3 hours? But that’s what I did because of my respect for 2 former colleagues. And in the case of one, which is that of Carri Champion, reciprocation seems to be a hard thing to come by.”
For her part, Champion addressed Smith directly in a video shared to her Instagram story on Sunday.
“Stephen A., thanks for coming on Flagrant and Funny,” she said caustically in the video. “You’re right. I should have said thank you. I am now realizing every one of my words will be policed, and I thank you. I’m not even speaking for Jemele Hill. I’m speaking for me. Thanks for coming on Flagrant and Funny. Really, honestly, appreciate it.”
As productive as the three-hour sit-down appeared to be, it’s starting to look like it was just a prelude to another months-long spat across the parties’ respective podcasts and social media.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.