Stephen A. Smith expressed his frustration with podcast hosts Cari Champion and Jemele Hill, alleging that their "Flagrant and Funny" YouTube channel released an edited version of his interview after promising an unedited conversation. Smith, a prominent ESPN personality, stated on his "Straight Shooter" podcast that he was assured the entire interview would be released without alterations.
"Somebody on their team assured somebody on my team that it would be unedited because I didn’t want any edits. I wanted everybody to see every word that was uttered, I wanted them to see every facial expression," Smith said. He also noted that the comments section on the YouTube release was disabled, which he found unexpected.
Smith stated that he requested the full, unedited interview, the reopening of comments, and a complete video copy from Champion and Hill. "I have nothing to hide," Smith asserted. "As I assured y’all, I said some things Cari flat out denied. I cant speak to her memory. I can only speak to my facts."
According to Smith, when his team inquired about the edited video, they were informed that "extremely abusive and threatening comments" directed at Champion and Hill had led to the decision to disable comments. Smith indicated this experience would influence his future business dealings.
Smith also highlighted the growth of Champion and Hill's YouTube channel following his appearance. He noted that the channel had approximately 9,000 subscribers before his interview and grew by over 30,000, accumulating over 1 million views. He expressed disappointment, stating, "A simple thank you would have sufficed. That would have been nice. I did take time out of my busy schedule."
Jemele Hill responded on X (formerly Twitter), addressing Smith's claims and calling them a "false narrative." She clarified that the full interview was available in its entirety on audio platforms like iHeartRadio and Apple Podcasts from the outset. Hill explained that a "mistake" occurred with the video editing, and neither she nor Champion were directly involved with the video production.
"This mistake was shared with Stephen A.’s team, and they were also provided a full transcript as well as told exactly how it happened," Hill wrote. "Nothing nefarious occurred. Trust me, there is no smoking gun in the unseen video footage and you can go to the audio and listen for yourselves. The 20 minutes that is alleged to be missing is ALL there in the audio version."
Cari Champion also shared her response on social media, thanking Smith for participating in their show. Hill and Champion subsequently released a "Flagrant and Funny" episode reflecting on the interview.