Stephen A. Smith admits Chiney Ogwumike’s French verbiage ‘kinda turned me on’

Stephen A. Smith has no issues telling people how he really feels, and he really feels a certain way about Chiney Ogwumike speaking French.

Ogwumike opened First Take’s segment on the Minnesota Timberwolves, taking a 2-1 lead over the Denver Nuggets by speaking French as a sort of ode to Rudy Gobert, who is from France. And one minute later, when it was Smith’s turn to talk, he made it awkward.

“I’ve never dated a woman from France, but after hearing Chiney (speak French), I was like, what have I been missing? That verbiage right there, that kinda turned me on” – Stephen A. Smith pic.twitter.com/El3FBGFaTD

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 24, 2026

“I gotta get a little personal for a second here,” Smith admitted. “I’m living a good life, I’m pretty damn happy to say the least, but I must admit, in all my years on this Earth, I’ve never dated a woman from France or anything like that. But after hearing Chiney, I was like, what have I been missing? That verbiage right there, that kinda turned me on.”

The camera shot of Shae Cornette, with her head in her hand, immediately after Smith announced Ogwumike’s French accent was a turn-on, said it all. This isn’t the first time Smith has said something that caused a co-worker to raise an eyebrow. There was the infamous vibrator comment he made to Molly Qerim a few years ago, for example.

Recently, during an appearance on Sage Steele’s podcast, Smith noted how he still makes it a point to compliment a woman for their attire on national TV “just to buck the system,” implying men aren’t allowed to praise the opposite sex anymore.

Maybe he was just trying to be complimentary of Ogwumike’s ability to faux a French accent. But while it’s one thing to be complimentary of someone’s outfit or ability to speak another language, it’s another to announce you’re turned on by something your colleague is doing on live television. And in this case, Smith may have gone too far in his attempt to flatter a co-worker.