Fox on Fox crime aimed at Skip Bayless used to be forbidden, but in recent weeks, the kid gloves appear to have been removed.
Tuesday morning, newly acquired FS1 host Craig Carton made the first Skip Bayless joke of his tenure while taunting co-host Greg Jennings for being a hot-take artist. Apparently, Jennings doesn’t believe Kevin Durant is capable of leading an NBA team by himself. The take stunned Carton, which caused him to make a joke that stunned the FS1 set.
Craig Carton with a mild Skip Bayless quip pic.twitter.com/Ji6QYQ5p3K
— Brandon Contes (@BrandonContes) January 10, 2023
“That’s the hill you wanna die on, buddy, go ahead,” Carton told the former NFL wide receiver. “You’re a hot take shock jock! That’s what you’ve become, what is your name, Skip Bayless?
“Oh, everyone stopped. You can laugh! I’m just teasing,” Carton added, recognizing the fear that overcame the studio as nearby Fox employees quivered at the sheer mention of Skip’s name.
While Carton’s joke was something that even the most sensitive person should be able to brush off as no big deal, it’s still surprising to hear Bayless mentioned on other Fox shows. For the most part, Fox hosts and shows have avoided criticizing, mocking, or even talking about Bayless. But recently, that policy has slightly shifted in the wake of Bayless bringing just criticism on himself for his poorly timed tweet during Damar Hamlin’s health scare.
In response to Bayless insensitively wondering how the NFL could postpone a Monday Night Football game that saw Hamlin go into cardiac arrest, the FS1 host has been almost universally slammed. Bayless admitted he heard from a boss at Fox about the tweet, he was criticized by colleagues Michael Strahan and Doug Gottlieb, and his own co-host Shannon Sharpe requested that the tweet be taken down. While ripping Skip’s controversial tweet on his podcast, Gottlieb even claimed he previously had his wrist slapped by Fox for discussing a Skip Bayless hot take about Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors.
Carton’s joke about Bayless had nothing to do with the Hamlin tweet, but it’s a continuation of Fox employees showing a newfound willingness to taunt FS1’s most valued personality. Surely, Bayless will never be aware that Carton even made the joke, however, because as the Undisputed host often states, he doesn’t pay attention to his mentions on social media and he doesn’t scour the internet for his name.
