FULL SHOW: Let me explain about Serena Williams. Kanye West disrupted Grammys, now "X" banned.

Summary

The Stephen A. Smith Show Episode: FULL SHOW: Let me explain about Serena Williams. Kanye West disrupted Grammys, now "X" banned. Release Date: February 13, 2025

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Introduction and Show Overview

Hosted by Stephen A. Smith, The Stephen A. Smith Show delves into a myriad of topics beyond sports, encompassing entertainment, pop culture, society, business, and politics. In this episode, Smith addresses significant events and controversies surrounding Serena Williams, Kanye West, Diddy, Elon Musk, and Kevin Durant, providing his unfiltered opinions and engaging in lively discussions with guests and callers.

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Super Bowl 59 Recap

Smith commences the show by recapping the monumental Super Bowl 59 matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.

• Viewership Record: "According to Nielsen and Fox Sports, more than 127 million people watched Super Bowl 59 with Philadelphia destroyed Kansas City. That's a new record for American viewership for an event across all platforms." ([02:02])

• Halftime Show Highlights: The halftime featured a stellar performance by Kendrick Lamar, including a 13-minute mashup of his hits and the anticipated "Not Like Us," a diss track aimed at Drake. Notably, Serena Williams made an impactful appearance, performing a Crip walk—an homage to her roots and former relationship with Drake. Smith comments on the ensuing controversy regarding his remarks about Serena's stage presence.

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Serena Williams' Super Bowl Performance and Controversy

Smith delves into the buzz surrounding Serena Williams' performance and his subsequent comments about it.

• Serena's Crip Walk: "She was seen Crip walking to the song. For those of you who don't know, Williams once actually dated Drake." ([02:02])

• Smith's Commentary on ESPN's First Take: Following his ESPN segment, Smith received backlash for his remarks, which he defends as addressing male insecurities rather than criticizing Serena directly.

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Discussion on Male Insecurity and Relationships

A caller engages in a heated discussion with Smith and guest Tori Cooper about male insecurities in relationships, particularly concerning women showing attention to ex-partners.

• Stephen A.'s Perspective: "Sometimes men are insecure... If your woman is showing any kind of energy towards another dude... That'll make me think, what's she thinking about him?" ([05:30])

• Caller's Argument: Men often feel threatened when their partners interact emotionally with exes, which can stem from personal insecurities. The caller emphasizes the importance of open communication in relationships to address these feelings.

• Tori Cooper's Input: Cooper agrees with the need for conversations between partners to navigate these insecurities effectively, highlighting that both men and women experience these feelings but may express them differently.

• Notable Quote: "The true end of any relationship isn't love, nor is it hatred, it's indifference." ([07:09])

This segment underscores the complex dynamics of modern relationships and the societal expectations placed on men to express vulnerability.

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NBA Segment: Kevin Durant's Milestone

Smith celebrates Kevin Durant's achievement of surpassing 30,000 career points, placing him among NBA legends.

• Durant's Achievement: "Kevin Durant became the eighth player in NBA history to score 30,000 points." ([36:31])

• Comparative Greatness: Durant is lauded as one of the top scorers in basketball history, surpassing legends like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant in scoring prowess.

• Overcoming Injuries: Despite suffering a torn Achilles, Durant's performance has improved, boasting a 53% field goal percentage and 41% from three-point range since his injury. Smith emphasizes Durant's resilience and continued excellence on the court.

• Notable Quote: "He's a bonafide professional. Pure scorer. It's who he is." ([36:59])

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Elon Musk and Trump Oval Office Press Conference

Smith transitions to the political realm, discussing a high-profile press conference featuring Elon Musk alongside former President Donald Trump.

• Press Conference Details: "Elon Musk, the world's richest man and new head of the Department of Government, held a press conference in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump." ([40:51])

• Policy Discussions: Both Musk and Trump defended their initiatives to reform the federal government and curb excessive spending, reflecting their shared political agendas.

• Concerns Raised: Smith voices concerns about Musk's unorthodox appointment and the potential implications for government transparency and accountability. He questions the checks and balances in place for Musk's role.

• Notable Quote: "Elon Musk is a problem. He is a problem because he's the world's richest man." ([45:56])

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Diddy's $100 Million Lawsuit Against NBCUniversal

The focus shifts to media mogul Diddy (Sean Combs) filing a significant defamation lawsuit.

• Lawsuit Overview: "Sean Diddy Combs' lawyers filed a $100 million lawsuit against NBC Universal and Peacock for defamation related to the documentary Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy." ([52:57])

• Allegations in the Documentary: The documentary accuses Combs of serious misconduct, including sexual assault of minors and involvement in murders of rivals and close friends.

• Legal Implications: Smith emphasizes the importance of the presumption of innocence, noting, "Innocent until proven guilty in the court of law." ([63:38])

• Notable Quote: "This is America. You are innocent until proven guilty in the court of law." ([63:38])

This segment highlights the intersection of media, public perception, and the legal system.

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Kanye West's Recent Controversies

One of the most intense segments, Smith addresses Kanye West's series of troubling actions and public statements.

• Antisemitic Remarks and Actions: West faced backlash for posting antisemitic views on X (formerly Twitter), leading to his talent agency dropping him and Shopify deactivating his online shop that sold T-shirts bearing a swastika symbol.

• Workplace Discrimination Lawsuit: A former Jewish employee filed a lawsuit against West for wrongful termination, citing gender and religious discrimination.

• Personal Struggles: Smith empathizes with West's personal losses, particularly the death of his mother, while critiquing his subsequent behavior: "No pain that I have ever felt in my life that comes close to the pain of losing my mother." ([57:15])

• Reflection on Mental Health: Smith urges West to seek help and reconsider his actions, aiming for a more constructive outlet for his pain rather than spreading hurt: "But he just seems to be on this mission. I just don't understand it." ([59:02])

• Notable Quote: "Hurt people, hurt people. He seems to be hurt and determined to distribute hurt." ([59:02])

Smith balances his critique with compassion, recognizing the impact of personal tragedy on West's behavior while condemning his harmful actions.

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Conclusion

In wrapping up the episode, Smith reiterates his thanks to guests and callers, emphasizing the importance of open dialogue on sensitive issues. He remains committed to providing insightful commentary on current events, sports achievements, and societal debates, ensuring that listeners are both entertained and informed.

• Final Remarks on Relationships and Insecurities: Acknowledges the necessity of discussing male insecurities and relationship dynamics to foster understanding and healthier interactions.

• Acknowledgment of Guests and Supporters: "Thanks again to the wonderful Tory Cooper for coming on and bringing balance to my discussion..." ([67:29])

Smith signs off with a promise to return with more engaging content, leaving listeners anticipating future discussions.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• “[07:09] Caller: You ever heard the saying, the true end of any relationship isn't love, nor is it hatred, it's indifference.”

• “[36:59] Caller: He was averaging 27.6 points since he turned 30. No NBA player in history has done that.”

• “[45:56] Caller: Including a lot of Democrats.”

• “[63:38] Caller: And by virtue of that reality, certain things shouldn't be exposed to the court of public opinion until a trial takes place.”

• “[59:02] Caller: Anybody just. Just Google Van Lathan, Kanye, I promise.”

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Final Thoughts

This episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show encapsulates a broad spectrum of contemporary issues, from sports milestones and personal relationships to high-profile legal battles and societal controversies. Smith's adept navigation through these topics, enriched by interactions with guests and callers, offers listeners a comprehensive and thought-provoking experience.

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Transcript

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[Stephen A. Smith]

From the executive producers of Hell and.

[Tori Cooper]

Gone comes a new podcast investigating the.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Serial murders orchestrated by South African cult leader Cecilia Stein. She conditioned them to be monsters.

[Tori Cooper]

She was telling people the Bible says she must go and kill, but actually.

[Larison Campbell]

She was taking revenge.

[Stephen A. Smith]

We are all so horrified by the.

[Caller]

Idea that a mother would sully her.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Daughter in this way. Listen to Queen Havoc and her murder.

[Caller]

Cult on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Advertiser]

Is that.

[Caller]

Excuse me, Ain't you Stephen.

[Advertiser]

A. Smith's nephew George?

[Stephen A. Smith]

He used to be Wadeza Tuesday two days after the Super Bowl.

[Caller]

Have me here another two days.

[Stephen A. Smith]

He's so pathetic. He really, really is. Then again with the news we've got to discuss today. Diddy Serena kd I guess it fits the Show St. Stephen A. Smith show in the House. Let's roll.

[Caller]

What's up everybody?

[Stephen A. Smith]

Welcome to the latest edition of the Stephen A. Smith Show. Coming at you as I love to do at least three days a week over the digital airwaves of YouTube. As always, I'd like to take a moment to pause and thank my subscribers and followers for continuing to support the show. On top of the millions of downloads we received over the last few months courtesy of iHeartRadio, we've also eclipsed 1.08 million subscribers over the last 22 months or so on YouTube. So I can't thank y'all for the love and support enough. Keep it coming. And I'm gonna keep on coming to continue to like and follow the show. Just click the bell to get notified for all of our new content and you too shall be the latest member of the Stephen A. Smith show family. You'll be notified for all of our newest content, of course. And on top of that, make sure to pick up a copy of my New York Times best selling book when you get an opportunity. Straight Shooter, A memoir of second chances and first takes, now in paperback. And to give you some insight into who I am and what my journey has been throughout my life up to this point, just go to straightshooterbook.com to get yourself a copy. That's straightshooterbook.com to get yourself a copy. We got to get started on a lot of different things. We're going to be talking about a lot of different things today. Kanye west, we're going to be talking about, of course, Diddy. Who knows what's going on with that President Trump, Elon Musk, there's so much stuff going on. But I've got to get started with the super bowl last Sunday between the Chiefs and the Eagles again with a few headlines percolating in the wake of the 4022 beat down the Eagles handed to Kansas City. The first headline is the ratings for the game. According to Nielsen and Fox Sports, more than 127 million people watched Super Bowl 59 with Philadelphia destroyed Kansas City. That's a new record for American viewership for an event across all platforms. The other headline that came out of the game was the halftime show courtesy of Kendrick Lamar that also featured Scissor. The set was a 13 minute mashup of Kendrick hits, including the much anticipated Not Like Us. Remember that? The diss track dedicated to Drake. That performance featured the world's greatest female athlete in Serena Williams, who was seen Crip walking to the song. For those of you who don't know, Williams once actually dated Drake. Now, I had some comments on Serena's appearance on the stage on Super Bowl Sunday that I shared on ESPN's First Take or that following Monday. Apparently that made many folks agitated because a lot of people had a problem with what I had to say. Before I give my thoughts on that. However, I do owe you the opportunity to see what has created this whole brouhaha and what's got everybody up in the Nancy, take a look.

[Caller]

If I'm married and my wife is going to join trolling her ex, go back to his ass because clearly you don't. You, you don't belong with me. What you worried about him for? And you with me.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I gotta get that lick back.

[Caller]

There you have it.

[Stephen A. Smith]

And because of that, everybody's up in a tizzy. News flash, ladies and gentlemen. First of all, I was playing around. It was a lot of fun. Secondly, I didn't utter a disrespectful word towards Serena Williams. So I don't know where the, the whole Serena protection protocol kicks in. I didn't say anything about her. I said, hey, listen, if I'm a man and I'm married, I certainly don't want my wife showing any kind of energy, positive, negative or otherwise, to another dude. That Happens to be her ex. That'll make me think, what's she thinking about him? Why is she thinking about him so much? Why does she feel the need to.

[Caller]

Exert any energy, emotional or otherwise, when it comes to that?

[Stephen A. Smith]

That's where I was coming from, but it was more of a gender issue, more so than anything else. In terms of men and how a lot of men feel, I'm not going to say most, I'm not going to say all, because I don't know. I'm going to tell you how I feel.

[Caller]

What I expressed is exactly what I meant. Not apologizing for it.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I'm not condoning it either, ladies and gentlemen, sometimes. And I would imagine that women would appreciate what I'm about to say and what I'm about to do, because that's all. I mean, what do you women say all the time? You want a man to express his emotions? Express yourself. Express yourself.

[Caller]

Talk to us.

[Stephen A. Smith]

That's what you want to say, right? Well, I'm going to talk to you.

[Caller]

Hope the Shade Room is listening.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I hope all these women out here listening.

[Caller]

Some men are insecure. Now, that's breaking news, supposedly. I mean, I didn't know that. I kind of thought that y'all automatically knew that. Not all. Not most every man can speak for himself. Every man could go online. Cause you know they are. And they gonna say, nah, that ain't me.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Nah, that ain't me. Nah, that ain't me.

[Caller]

And I have no proof to the contrary.

[Stephen A. Smith]

So I'm just gonna tell you, me.

[Caller]

And the men that I know, most.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Men, we're a bit insecure when we.

[Caller]

See energy expressed in a direction of another dude. Even if it's vitriol, even if it's venom, even if it's hate, even if it's. Get back. Whatever it is.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You ever heard the saying, the true end of any relationship isn't love, nor is it hatred, it's indifference.

[Caller]

You ever heard that? In other words, when you simply don't matter, somebody chooses not to expend a scintilla of energy in your direction because you're not worth it. They have a better life, they are preoccupied, and they don't give you a second thought. That's indifference. That's when the end truly arrives. And the reason why some, not most, not all, might react in a certain way as a man. Because the men I know tend to think along the lines of, my woman.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Wouldn'T have any time to be expending any kind of energy like that because she's happy with me. We good?

[Caller]

Now, for those that want to throw out facts instead of touching on a perspective, like, I would like you to let me make sure that I let you know that I am aware of.

[Stephen A. Smith]

The facts involving Drake, Serena Williams, and her husband.

[Caller]

Apparently, Drake had dissed Serena's husband in the past, so her Crip walking on stage to not like us on Super Bowl Sunday was seen as a slap in Drake's face for disrespecting her and her husband.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Drake's lyrics on the song sidebar, Serena, your husband a groupie?

[Caller]

He claimed, we don't got a problem, but no boo.

[Stephen A. Smith]

It's like, you coming for sushi, whatever that is. Okay, I'm not about to get in all that. Okay? I just want to make sure that.

[Caller]

I'm clear, that everybody knows that I know there's history there. All right? And then Serena Williams issued this statement out here when Kendrick Lamar and team.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Called and was like, we've been trying to do something forever.

[Caller]

What about this? We loved your Crip walk at the.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Olympics after you won a gold medal.

[Caller]

I'm like, super Bowl?

[Stephen A. Smith]

Are you serious?

[Caller]

When in the world would I ever be able to dance at a Super Bowl?

[Stephen A. Smith]

Never. Let's do it.

[Caller]

I knew my winning dance after the.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Olympics would pay off one day. End of story.

[Caller]

Fine. She did it at Wimbledon back in 2013, if I remember correctly. Okay. That's where she's from.

[Stephen A. Smith]

She's from Compton.

[Caller]

She's from Compton. Kendrick Lamar is from same area, obviously.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Same town. Of course. That's her homie.

[Caller]

No biggie. Nobody was insulting Serena Williams. I'm simply saying from the male perspective because I thought the males would pick up on it. Well, damn. Not Serena, not her husband. That's their personal business. I'm sure they talked about it before she did it. I'm. I'm saying in general, I use that to metaphorically touch on men and women and how men feel about a woman showing any kind of energy, negative, positive, or otherwise, towards an ex. And I got people up in the tizzy, not just on social media. I got people that work with me, people that work for me. Nah, nah, nah. Somebody said, Ryan Clark actually tried to save me for myself. Well, I wasn't trying to be saved. I got this opinion, what, am I going to jail for it? I'm gonna get cuffed and thrown behind bars because I'm acknowledging what some men want, what some men feel. If your woman is showing energy towards an ex, that involves feelings, that involves emotions, which might make a man be introspective. I had one of my boys sit up there and say to me, well, then that just means you insecure.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Why would you say that publicly?

[Caller]

Who cares? You know how many men out here are insecure? Ladies, a lot of us are insecure. We want to have that discussion. We had a discussion. You want me to get emotion? Hold on. Here's some tissue. Michael, please. I mean, do I need to get emotional? Ladies and gentlemen, I cry sometimes. Ladies and gentlemen, I get a bit emotional sometimes. Sometimes I feel alone. Sometimes I just want to. I just want to be held. All of these things are true. Now, you don't express it the way a woman expresses it. And I'm joking around, obviously in fashion that I did say it, but every emotion that I expressed is true. I've cried before. I've been lonely before. I wanted to be held before. There are. Sometimes I come home from a hard day's work, and guess what? Some sex ain't on my mind. I just want to lay down. I just want to lay my head on my lady's couch. On my lady's lap. I'm sorry. I want my head rubbed. I want my shoulders massage. I want that back rub.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I want affection.

[Caller]

What, I'm a wuss now? That mean I ain't holding it down. That's what we doing. Be careful before you answer that question, fellas. Valentine's Day's Friday. Forgot about that, didn't you? Valentine's Day is coming up. Valentine's Day weekend. Perfect time to express your emotions. Set the stage from. Now listen to your boy. I'm just trying to tell you. Okay, what about Serena and her husband? The incident was used to broach a different kind of discussion.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Some dudes to my married boy Galen, especially because you know, you know him. You know what I'm saying? I'm saying, I mean, he got to be.

[Larison Campbell]

He.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I mean, he. He got to be Dr. Phil one day and. And Dr. Drew the next. You're always trying to get in. It's always timed around Valentine's Day and birthday. Stuff like that.

[Caller]

He think he's slick, but it's okay.

[Stephen A. Smith]

All right?

[Caller]

It's all right. It's okay. We want to be in touch with our emotions.

[Stephen A. Smith]

All I'm saying, folks, is that every man is not secure under every situation and circumstance.

[Caller]

And through no fault of a woman, sometimes you'll find yourself in a precarious situation with a man because of his own insecurities that he may or may not have verbalized to you if you had.

[Stephen A. Smith]

And this. This is not clearly what Serena did. So again, I'm not talking about her.

[Caller]

Fellas, what if you had.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Your woman and she saw a friend, Just a.

[Caller]

Friend, never been with him.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Or he could be gay. Or it could be something. And what if you had a woman and just in your presence, she just ran and jumped into the arms of another man.

[Caller]

Right in front of you? Clearly wasn't doing anything totally innocent. He could be just a friend, but she leaped off her feet and jumped into his arms?

[Stephen A. Smith]

How would you feel? You insecure?

[Caller]

Then what if you ran in to a female friend of yours in the presence of your girl and you picked her up off her feet and spun around and gave her this beautiful big hug?

[Stephen A. Smith]

How you think your girl feel about it? See, we want to act like I'm speaking a foreign language, but we know better. There's a lot of us out here that have insecurities. Last time I checked, that's human. If y'all disagree, I'm sorry y'all lying. And you choose to lie to the public, even if it's to yourself.

[Caller]

But that's just me.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I don't want to be somebody that just spews this rhetoric and I don't get a perspective from someone different than myself. So I'm gonna introduce my next guest to provide me with that kind of material. But not before I pay some bills via Prize Pick. Check it out.

[Caller]

All right, folks, I need you all to stop what you're doing and listen up.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You know I love this time of year, right? The NBA season is in full string.

[Caller]

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[Stephen A. Smith]

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[Stephen A. Smith]

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[Stephen A. Smith]

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[Stephen A. Smith]

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[Stephen A. Smith]

Run your game. Now let's look at my picks for today.

[Caller]

First up, will Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Lillard dame Time score More or less than 27 and a half points against Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

[Caller]

I'm going with more. We don't know the status of Giannis.

[Stephen A. Smith]

He's been out for a few games. That puts more of a load on Damen Lillard, who is a scoring machine whenever he wants to be. Do I see him putting up 27 and a half or more versus Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves? Absolutely. I'm going with more on this one. Next up, the ant man himself. Anthony Edwards scores more or less than.

[Caller]

30 and a half points with this one.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I'm going with less. I know Anthony Edwards likes to put on a show.

[Caller]

Ain't no doubt about that.

[Stephen A. Smith]

We know what his capabilities are. But for Minnesota to really, really get going, they're going to need a collective effort. The Rudy Go Bears of the world, the Nas Reeds of the world and others, they have to step up and do what they're going to do. I think Anthony Edwards going to give him an opportunity to do just that. Is he going to score 25 or 26? Sure, but I'm going to go with him less on this particular question. Next up, will Golden State warriors point guard Stephen Curry score more or less than 27 and a half points against Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks? Come on now. I'm going one more. It's Steph Curry going up against Klay Thompson, who's no longer a member of the W Timberwolves. No longer a member of the Warriors. He's a member of the Mavs. Steph Curry ain't gonna sit idly by. Just let him do his thing. And Seth Curry ain't gonna try to do his thing. I think Steph Curry is going to get loose. You can go with more on this one. That's a sure bet in my mind. Finally, with Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reeves, will he score more or less than 29 points, rebounds and assists against Utah? I'm going to go with more. Austin Reeves is really coming to his own. He had a 45 point game last week. You look at what he's capable of putting up, how he crashes the boards when necessary. He scores, assists, he does whatever he needs to do. Good decision making. He's blossoming under the tutelage of of J.J. redick. So I want to give props where props is due to go. Back to my answers. More on Damian Lillard, less on Anthony Edwards, more on Steph Curry, more on Austin Reeves. Surprise picks. It's more as in more money. That's what they like to say it's what I know happens to be true. Geico's motorcycle expertise means I'm covered by.

[Larison Campbell]

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[Caller]

It just meant that I feel really.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Good about my coverage.

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I mean, even if you took the climb out for the best day ever, visiting the zoo, taking a scenic ride, knowing you're insured by specialists, and sharing a strawberry ice cream cone together, the.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Clam would not feel happy.

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[Caller]

Ew.

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[Stephen A. Smith]

Geico expertise for your motorcycle.

[Larison Campbell]

There's a type of soil in Mississippi called Yazoo clay. It's thick, burnt orange, and it's got a reputation. It's terrible, terrible dirt. Yazoo clay eats. So things that get buried there tend to stay buried until they're not. In 2012, construction crews at Mississippi's biggest hospital made a shocking discovery.

[Stephen A. Smith]

7,000 bodies out there or more, all.

[Larison Campbell]

Former patients of the old state asylum, and nobody knew they were there.

[Stephen A. Smith]

It was my family's mystery.

[Larison Campbell]

But in this corner of the south, it's not just the soil that keeps secrets.

[Caller]

Nobody talks about it.

[Larison Campbell]

Nobody has any information. When you peel back the layers of Mississippi's Yazoo clay, nothing's ever as simple as you think.

[Stephen A. Smith]

The story is much more complicated and nuanced than that.

[Larison Campbell]

I'm Larison Campbell. Listen to under yazukle on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your pod.

[Caller]

For more on this story, I want to bring in my good friend.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You've seen it before.

[Caller]

We haven't seen in a couple weeks. I had a bunch of football and basketball stuff to do or whatever, but she's back. The Lovely, the wonderful Ms. Tori Cooper is back here on the show. Go ahead. What's up, Tori? How are you doing? You heard what I had to say.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Any problem with my comments?

[Tori Cooper]

You're getting cooked. You're getting cooked on social media, on just a shade room everywhere. You're getting cooked for this one. Stephen A. Hey, you're used to that, though. It's fine. I mean, it's two things happening at once.

[Caller]

What did I say wrong?

[Tori Cooper]

Tori, you didn't say anything wrong, okay? You didn't say anything wrong. That is a perspective that is out there, but you have to acknowledge the other part of the conversation, right? I mean, at the end of the day. If your man is cool with this. Your man is cool with this. Okay? Your man is cool with this. Your man is cool with this. You have to have that conversation. And it stop. It starts and stops there, right? So her man said, look, this was bigger than Drake. And she said, this was bigger than Drake. This is because if you look back at the history of it, go back to 2012, when she won the Olympics, she did the Crip walk. She got pushed back for it. And it's because they said, you know, you shouldn't be doing a performance like that. You know, dancing on a public stage like that, that has gang connotations to the dance that you're doing. Now we know that she is reclaiming and celebrating her past. She's from Compton. Kendrick's from Compton, California Bloods, the Crips. There was symbolism in the Kendrick Lamar super bowl performance. And so this was those two moments in one. And also that was her way of saying, like, look, you're not going to steal my. The dance I love doing, and I'm going to do it on the super bowl stage. So if my man is cool with me reclaiming my narrative, I'm going to be cool with it.

[Caller]

But. But listen to what I'm saying.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Listen what I'm saying. Nobody's disputing that.

[Caller]

Nobody's having a problem with that.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I don't have a problem with that.

[Caller]

Do your thing. I'm saying I used it to springboard to a general gender kind of conversation or relationship.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Say gender. A relationship kind of conversation.

[Caller]

Most men when. If they look at you and they saw that you were given energy in any way to your ex, they would be like, you with me. You supposed to be happy with me. Why is your ex getting that kind of energy? Just like a woman, if she sees you giving any kind of energy. You know how many times dudes go off and they're pissed off about an ex and a woman is looking at.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Them going like this, what's he so mad about? Why is he reacting that way? I mean, what's his problem? He's with me. Why is he worried about her?

[Caller]

You trying to tell me women don't do that?

[Tori Cooper]

Of course they do.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Of course.

[Tori Cooper]

Course they do. But in this situation, I really believe thank you was bigger than that. So of course you're going to get cooked online, though, for this, because they're saying, why are you even coming? For Serena, this was so much bigger. And they're saying two things. But what I want to say is two things can be real. And can be true. And I do say, I do agree with what you're saying, that, yes, this is a conversation that's out there. Men are the ones who at times feel this way, that.

[Caller]

Why.

[Tori Cooper]

Why are you going to be 40 with two kids out there and giving this type of energy to another man? There is that conversation out there and the people who are not going to act like they maybe have that. That feeling towards it, you know, that they may not, but there are men that hold that perspective. But I think at the end of the day, as long as you're having that conversation with your man, that's what matters.

[Caller]

But, Tory, what I'm saying to you is this. I bring up the kids. I didn't bring up her age. All I'm saying is you're in a relationship and happy with your man. Not forget Serena and her husband for. Again, that was to springboard towards a bigger conversation because we was just joking about that. But it was like, damn, you know, that kind of energy. Of course she has the right to do it. Of course there's nobody's business. Of course she could do what she wants to do. She doesn't deserve to be insulted and neither does her husband. I'm saying off of a general conversation, there's plenty of men that would have an issue with their woman showing any kind of energy. Let me ask you, can I get a little personal? Tori, can I get a little personal?

[Tori Cooper]

Okay. Okay.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You know, you. You know, you. You expressed. You know, you. You know, you pretty happy. You know, you found a man of your dreams and, you know, you very, very happy and stuff like that. I want to ask a question about your man. Nobody got to know who he is.

[Caller]

If your man. If saw you on. On. On a stage, given it could be negative. But given extra energy to an ex.

[Stephen A. Smith]

How would he feel?

[Tori Cooper]

I'd have to ask him. I'd have to ask him beforehand. Stephen. I have to ask him. I've had this conversation.

[Caller]

So you don't know. So you don't know. Are you. Toby, you.

[Tori Cooper]

I would assume that no matter what, it's a touchy.

[Caller]

Stephen.

[Tori Cooper]

A. I would assume that it could be a touchy area. And that's why I would have the conversation with him.

[Caller]

Okay.

[Tori Cooper]

Before I would even step foot on.

[Stephen A. Smith]

So got you.

[Caller]

No problem. But what I'm saying to you is.

[Stephen A. Smith]

This, Tory, is it possible that you know him already?

[Caller]

And because I'm not talking about Serena and her husband, forget that now. I'm talking general. Men, women.

[Tori Cooper]

Yeah.

[Caller]

Is it fair to say that you would never put yourself in that position because he's a man and you know how he probably feel.

[Tori Cooper]

Again, it's still the Super Bowl. I'm not gonna lie. I'm still gonna reach out to my man and see how he feels about it. I'm gonna see how he feels about it. Because if this meant so much to me, if I had this lore, this background of this dance was basically criticized. And then now I have a moment to do that same dance on a Super bowl stage in a symbolic message to America.

[Caller]

I'm.

[Tori Cooper]

I'm gonna want to potentially take that. And I'm gonna still talk to my man, though, and see how he feels about it. But it's so much bigger than some guy I was kind of maybe dating and I shared a few kisses with and was caught taking pictures, you know, it wasn't like they didn't even really come out and really express how much their relationship was, you know? And you've probably had relationships to Stephen A. That maybe aren't as in depth and were as serious and maybe don't deserve all this energy either. But that is to your point, too. She did give a lot of energy to this moment, but I didn't give.

[Caller]

A lot of energy to it until everybody was on social media going off. All I did was joke about it on national TV for 30 seconds. That's all I did. And by the way, I got one of my peeps here. Want to make sure? Because I want to make sure.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I got to be fair. I got to be fair. I gotta give the information, right?

[Caller]

Oh, my God.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Far be it for me to fail to give the information, right?

[Caller]

Drake dissed Serena's husband. This is in the past. So her doing that was also a slap in Drake's face for disrespecting her and her husband. Here was the Drake. There was the lyrics in Drake's song about it. Sidebar.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Serena, your husband a groupie.

[Caller]

He claimed, we don't got a problem, but no, boo. It is like, you coming for sushi. That's what he wrote. Okay, I don't know the damn song. I don't care. All I'm saying is. All I'm saying is you a dude.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Most dude.

[Caller]

This is what pisses me off. See, you. You women, you got men scared of their own damn shadow. So they gotta agree with you even when they know our nature from time to time as men. Most, not all. If you have a woman in your life who is showing extra energy of any kind to an ex, it will.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Raise an eyebrow and elevate suspicion, which is why women who don't want to lose their man watch out for stuff like that. And when they don't watch out for stuff like that, it's because they've reached a point where they don't care because he might have pissed them off.

[Tori Cooper]

Let me ask you something.

[Stephen A. Smith]

That's all I was trying to say.

[Tori Cooper]

Let me ask you. So you don't think she had this conversation with her husband? They did have this conversation.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I think she did.

[Tori Cooper]

Okay, so why is that?

[Stephen A. Smith]

She did.

[Caller]

But why do you keep ignoring the fact that. But why.

[Stephen A. Smith]

But.

[Caller]

But why do you keep ignoring the fact that it wasn't about her? It was springboarding towards the male, female.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Dynamic and how most men would feel if their woman was in that position. That is true necessarily, specifically about Serena. Okay.

[Tori Cooper]

No, I. No, and I see that point, too. It is a gender. There is a gender. A point about gender that you're trying to make about how there are men out there that share this perspective and the ones that didn't come to your defense and social media and basically left you hanging high and dry, you know, acting like they don't feel that way is not true. That's right.

[Stephen A. Smith]

A bunch of wusses.

[Caller]

A bunch of wusses.

[Tori Cooper]

Yeah.

[Caller]

They're not trying to get cooked.

[Tori Cooper]

They're not trying to get cooked like you, because.

[Caller]

Is that.

[Tori Cooper]

That's what it is?

[Caller]

Valentine's Day. That's what it is. Valentine's Day coming up.

[Tori Cooper]

Yeah. They're not trying to mess up. Stir the pot. They're not trying to stir the pot right now. Things are good. They got their Valentine's Day plans. They got the fake roses. They got the chocolates. The last thing they want to hear about is that they don't want to hear about. Wow. So this is how you feel about that?

[Stephen A. Smith]

So. So, Tory, check out what I'm gonna do. Check out what I'm gonna do. Because, see, I'm. I'm a man of the people. I'm a man of the people. Okay? So what I'm gonna do, Tori, is Imma look out for all the fellas. On behalf of all the fellas, Imma take this on the chin. Imma act like it's just me.

[Caller]

Shannon got nothing to do with this. RC ain't got nothing to do with this. Daniels ain't got nothing to do with it. All the men out there on social media, y'all ain't got nothing to do with it.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I'ma take this on the chin for the fellas. Steven, I'm gonna act like it's just me.

[Tori Cooper]

Let me ask you something.

[Stephen A. Smith]

When I know damn well it's. It's most of the male species.

[Caller]

Go ahead.

[Tori Cooper]

So do you feel. You really do feel that way personally? This is your personal belief of how you would feel if in this situation? Because people want to know where you fall in certain places for certain topics. So this is where you feel.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Hell, yes.

[Caller]

Let me put you this way. If I had a woman who was.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Going to perform on stage for.

[Caller]

On a diss track, during a diss track for her ex boyfriend, I would look at her and go like this. The you think you're doing.

[Stephen A. Smith]

What's the problem? Why. Why do you feel the need to do that?

[Caller]

I would look at her and be like, what? What?

[Stephen A. Smith]

Tell me why you need to do that.

[Caller]

But that's me. If Serena's husband do that, that's his business, his prerogative. I'm not insulting him at all.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I'm telling you what I would do.

[Tori Cooper]

Yeah.

[Caller]

And I would raise an eyebrow. So he. He.

[Stephen A. Smith]

He affects you that way, huh? He still got that kind of fact? Really? Okay.

[Caller]

Because, you know, I. I mean, I.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Think I'm gifted enough in a variety of ways not to be a consolation prize for anybody. And I would instantly be thinking of myself as a consolation prize if I saw that kind of energy. That's just me being honest as a dude. If other dudes don't want to be honest enough to admit that, that's on them. To the ladies out there. I don't mind being vulnerable. I don't mind expressing myself. Just showing you where my heart lies.

[Tori Cooper]

Is it so is it. Is it annoying to you because of the message it sends to other people?

[Caller]

No, not at all. I just think that men are not being honest. I just think that the guys out there that have spoken against it, not Serena and her husband for the last time, in general, the male, female dynamic relationship dynamic. I don't think men are being honest about that. All I'm saying to you is most.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Men that I know feel that way.

[Caller]

Whether they willing to admit it or not, that's on them.

[Stephen A. Smith]

It's a damn shame that I've been left to stand alone on this issue. That's all I got to say. Tori, I gotta run. All right.

[Tori Cooper]

All right, Steven.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I gotta get on out of here for the moment anyway. All right. You take it easy. Thanks for joining me. I got another word from prize picks for y'all. Okay. Got another word from prospects. Be right back.

[Caller]

All right, everybody, listen up with all the big time sports action that's happening each and every day, the Stephen A. Smith show wants to make sure you.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Are taking advantage of it all.

[Caller]

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[Stephen A. Smith]

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[Caller]

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[Stephen A. Smith]

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[Caller]

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[Stephen A. Smith]

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[Caller]

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[Stephen A. Smith]

Then sit back and watch. The list is endless.

[Caller]

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[Stephen A. Smith]

Just look for the protected play. So win or you'll cash back and.

[Caller]

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[Stephen A. Smith]

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[Caller]

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[Stephen A. Smith]

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[Caller]

Again, download the app and use Code SAs to get $50 instantly after your first $5 lineup.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Prize picks yo run your game.

[Larison Campbell]

There's a type of soil in Mississippi called Yazoo Clay. It's thick, burnt orange, and it's got a reputation. It's terrible, terrible dirt. Yazoo clay eats everything, so things that get buried there tend to stay buried until they're not. In 2012, construction crews at Mississippi's biggest hospital made a shocking discovery.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Seven thousand bodies out there, or more.

[Larison Campbell]

All former patients of the old state asylum, and nobody knew they were there.

[Stephen A. Smith]

It was my family's mystery.

[Larison Campbell]

But in this corner of the south, it's not just the soil that keeps secrets.

[Caller]

Nobody talks about it. Nobody has any information.

[Larison Campbell]

When you peel back the layers of Mississippi's Yazoo Clay, nothing's ever as simple as you think.

[Stephen A. Smith]

The story is much more complicated and nuanced than that.

[Larison Campbell]

I'm Larison Campbell. Listen to under yazukle on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Advertiser]

Have you ever wondered, if your pet is lying to you, why is my.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Cat not here and I go in.

[Larison Campbell]

And she's eating my lunch?

[Advertiser]

Or if hypnotism is real, you will use the suggestion in order to enhance your cognitive control. What what's inside a black hole?

[Stephen A. Smith]

Black holes could be a consequence of the way that we understand the universe well.

[Advertiser]

We have answers for you in the new iHeart original podcast Science Stuff. Join me Jorge Cham as we tackle questions you've always wanted to know the answer to about animals, space, our brains and our bodies. Questions like can you survive being cryogenically frozen?

[Caller]

This is experimental. This may never work for you.

[Advertiser]

What's a quantum computer?

[Caller]

It's not just a faster computer, it.

[Geico Voiceover]

Performs in a fundamentally different way.

[Advertiser]

Do you really have to wait 30 minutes after eating before you can go swimming? It's not really a safety issue, it's more of a comfort issue. We'll talk to experts, break it down, and give you easy to understand explanations to fascinating scientific questions. So give yourself permission to be a science geek and listen to science stuff on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Now it's time to get to the NBA where history was made in Phoenix last night as Kevin Durant became the eighth player in NBA history to score 30,000 points.

[Caller]

It happened on two free throws last night in the third quarter as the.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Suns lost to the Memphis Grizzlies. 119 112.

[Caller]

Durant joins an elite scoring group that.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Includes LeBron James, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Carl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk nowitzki, and the one and only Wilt Chamberlain. By the way, LeBron is the only player in league history to score more than 40,000 points. As for Durant, the four time NBA.

[Caller]

Scoring champion remains one of the league's.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Best shot makers, currently averaging just over 27 points per game in his 17th season.

[Caller]

I've said this early on television.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I'm going to say it again. Kevin Durant is one of the top 10 players in the history of basketball. I challenge anybody to find me a dude that's 6ft 11, 7ft tall that could do the things he can do with a basketball ball on the perimeter, beyond the arc, mid range game. It doesn't matter. He's a bonafide professional. Pure scorer. It's who he is. And strictly when it speaks to scoring as opposed to overall play, I can make an argument that Kevin Durant is one of the top three scorers in the history of basketball.

[Caller]

Do y'all know that after 12 years.

[Stephen A. Smith]

In the NBA he had torn his Achilles and since that time he's actually shot better and more efficiently than he was doing before his injury. 53 from the field, 41 from three point range.

[Caller]

That's what he's done in the last four plus years since he's been back.

[Stephen A. Smith]

From that Achilles tier.

[Caller]

He's been averaging 27.6 points since he turned 30. No NBA player in history has done that. This is who Kevin Durant is. Now, I know it's shocking because he got pissed at me and he called me a clown because I questioned his leadership and all of this other stuff. He could be mad all he wants to. The man got swept two of the.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Last three years and would have lost.

[Caller]

In the first round a third straight year if Kawhi Leonard hadn't gotten hurt. But nothing takes away from his greatness.

[Stephen A. Smith]

As a basketball player.

[Caller]

Nothing's going to stop me from acknowledging it. And I happen to believe, no matter what he said about me, he's a pretty damn good dude. He just gets emotional sometimes and he lashes out. But he's a good brother. He's never cheated the game. He steps on the court. He performs at a high level all the time. Now, are there some questions about the intangibles? Yes. Does he have the intangibles to lead? Meaning to maximize the potential around him, to make sure guys are doing what.

[Stephen A. Smith]

They supposed to do?

[Caller]

That remains a question mark. No doubt about it.

[Stephen A. Smith]

But having said that, there's still no question his greatness. This dude's one of the greatest players in NBA history and one of the top three greatest scorers in the history of basketball.

[Caller]

Look at the numbers.

[Stephen A. Smith]

They speak for themselves, ladies and gentlemen.

[Caller]

He's a greater scorer than LeBron James, ladies and gentlemen. He's a greater scorer than Kobe Bryant.

[Stephen A. Smith]

And you know, that's damn near sacrilegious to say, but Kobe wasn't 6ft 11 with a 76 wingspan.

[Caller]

That was KD, Trey. That was Kevin Durant. The only person that I would say wasn't a better scorer then was Michael Jordan. But KD is that dude. Remember, he's. He missed time when he was in Oklahoma City with the foot injury. He definitely missed time when he tore the Achilles. Katie. Something special, y'all.

[Stephen A. Smith]

And I'm not going to deny him his props under any circumstances. Congrats to him joining a 30, 000 club. I don't think he'll make it to 40 because he'll have to average about 2, 000 points a season for the next five years. And, you know, he's. He's over 35, so I don't know he gonna play till he's 40, 42 or whatever, but, hell, I can't put nothing past him. Cause he's that dude. No doubt about it. Congratulations and props to the one and Only Kevin Durant.

[Caller]

Coming up, Kanye west is making headlines.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Again for all the wrong reasons. I'll get into that straight ahead.

[Caller]

But first, Elon Musk holds a press conference inside the Oval Office with President Trump sitting right next to him.

[Stephen A. Smith]

We'll talk about that next right here on the Stephen A. Smith Show. Wait until you hear what I have to say about this. Welcome back to Stephen A. Smith show right here over the Digital Airways of YouTube and of course, iHeartRadio. Let's go to Washington, D.C. the nation's capital, where Americans saw a different image of power coming from the White House. Elon Musk, the world's richest man and new head of the Department of Government.

[Caller]

Efficiency, held a press conference from the.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Oval Office with the President of the United States, Donald Trump, sitting right next to him. Both men defended their efforts to enact sweeping changes to the federal government and limit spending. The move comes as Trump signed an executive order, yet another one providing new guidance for federal agencies to cut what both men characterize as excessive government spending.

[Caller]

Your detractors, Mr. Moss?

[Geico Voiceover]

I have to what?

[Caller]

Including a lot of Democrats.

[Geico Voiceover]

I have detractors.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You do, sir?

[Geico Voiceover]

I don't believe it.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Say that your orchestration, demonstrating a hostile.

[Caller]

Takeover of government and doing it in a non transparent way. What's your response to that criticism?

[Geico Voiceover]

Well, first of all, you couldn't ask for a stronger mandate from the public. The people voted for major government reform. There should be no doubt about that. That was on the campaign. The President spoke about that at every rally. The people voted for major government reform and that's what people are going to get. They're going to get what they voted for.

[Larison Campbell]

Mr. Musk, the White House says that.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You will identify and excuse yourself from any conflicts of interest that you may have. Does that mean that you are in effect policing yourself? What are the checks and balances that are in place to ensure that there is accountability and transparency?

[Tori Cooper]

No.

[Geico Voiceover]

Well, we actually are trying to be as transparent as possible. In fact, our actions, we post our actions to the DOGE handle on X and to the DOGE website. So all of our actions are maximally transparent. In fact, I don't think there's been, I don't know of a case where an organization has been more transparent than the DOGE organization. And I fully expect to be scrutinized and get a daily proctology exam. Basically my soldiers camp out there. So it's not like I think I can get away with something. I'll be scrutinized non stop.

[Caller]

And are we thinking if we thought.

[Geico Voiceover]

That we would not let him do.

[Stephen A. Smith]

That segment or look in that area, if we thought there was a lack.

[Geico Voiceover]

Of transparency or a conflict of interest.

[Caller]

And we watched that also.

[Stephen A. Smith]

If a judge does block one of.

[Caller]

Your policies, part of your agenda, will.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You abide by that ruling?

[Caller]

Will you comply with the court?

[Stephen A. Smith]

Well, I always abide by the courts.

[Caller]

And then I'll have to appeal it. But then what he's done is he slowed down the momentum and it gives crooked people more time to cover up the books. Yeah, the answer is I always abide by the courts, always abide by him and will appeal.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You know, I listen to Elon Musk speaking there. I listen to Donald Trump, President Donald Trump, the 47th President of the United States, formerly the 45th President of the United States States, speaking there. And I'm watching Democrats protesting on Capitol Hill demanding justice, highlighting that nobody elected Elon. I'm hearing politicians, rightfully so, I might add, emphasizing the need to not stand pat and just wait to make change come midterm elections. They're not wrong. We don't need to stand alibi and wait until the midterm elections. Folks do need to speak out, especially our elected officials. But like I told y'all before, my politics, regardless of what you want to think, because most of the time I vote Democrat, that's usually involving the presidency. I didn't tell you how I vote for a gubernatorial seat or a mayoral seat or anything like that, but that's neither here nor there. The point is, I pride myself in being a centrist. I'll openly confess that most people on my team are not. They're leftist. I'll openly confess that a lot of people that I work for and whatever, regardless of what they say, I think they're righties. They're not fooling anybody. I don't care. I look at the information and I'm going to call balls and strikes like I see them. Elon Musk is a problem. He is a problem because he's the world's richest man. According to numerous reports, he's received money from our government because he's in business with the government, whether it's Skylink, Tesla or whatever. I don't have those that information in front of me. And he's not an elected official.

[Caller]

So not only have the people not elected him, he wasn't even confirmed by the Senate. He's just Trump's guy. That is an incredible, incredible reason to be alarmed. Especially when they're looking at have access to the treasury. Treasury, thereby giving Them access to private information involving every American citizen in this country. Certainly there's a reason to be very, very alarmed. Nobody's denying that.

[Stephen A. Smith]

But you see, I'm fair minded. There's a flip side. I don't know about y'all, but aren't you a little bit suspicious about watching a bunch of Democrats raise holy hell over his access before we find out whatever it is that he's found out?

[Caller]

I don't know about y'all, but I don't want laws being broken. I don't want the Constitution being ignored or violated. I don't want the civil liberties of American citizens being compromised. All of that is true. But I have to confess, I do want to know how much money politicians are getting from the moment they arrive on Capitol Hill. What are your investments? Who did you invest with? What kind of information did you get access to to enable you to make those investments so you can make money? Do the American people have the same access you have? We damn sure don't have the same health care. From my understanding, these are questions.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Why do we have a problem knowing that the answers to them?

[Caller]

Inquiring minds would like to know. You're an elected official. That makes you a public figure. I think Trump should have given us access to his books. I think it should have been mandated when he was running for election in 2015 and in 2016. How in the hell did he not have to show us his tax returns? That should have been mandatory. I got a red flag up about Musk, too. I'll be damned if I trust Trump. But nearly 80 million people have spoken regardless of what the Democrats want to tell us. And I hear like the number was.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Like 220,000 out of millions. That's what it ultimately came down to, the difference in the polls between Kamala.

[Caller]

Harris and Donald Trump, whatever it is. He won every swing state, won about 50 counties. He increased in the black, the Hispanic and the young voter demographic and the white women that were supposed to come out and be against him in droves because of his position on Roe v. Wade didn't equate to him not being reelected.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Somewhere along the line.

[Caller]

Send missing I understand the uproar. I understand the need for the Democrats to make noise. DEI is another thing. We'll be revisiting that in the days and the weeks to come. Make no mistake about it. But understand on its premise to have somebody elected in office targeting excessive government spending. I'm trying to figure out, how is the taxpayer supposed to be appalled and put off and threatened by that Exposure being revealed to us. If I'm not trusting Musk, I'm not trusting Trump. But I'll be damned if I don't want to hear what they have to say about where the hell millions upon millions of dollars of taxpayer money has gone.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Oh, I want all those details, every penny, if you can find out.

[Caller]

I want it all. Where has this money been appropriated to? Who has it been appropriated by? What level of benefit did they incur.

[Stephen A. Smith]

From it and who suffered because of it?

[Caller]

There are strong questions to ask coming.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Down the pike, especially with these executive orders. Trump is handing it down.

[Caller]

You want to get rid of the Department of Education?

[Stephen A. Smith]

Well, what kind of damage is that going to do? Where will we be as a country without the Department of Education? What tentacles does it have and does it reach that could detrimentally affect the American people? And if you don't have a Department.

[Caller]

Of Education, how specifically is that going to benefit our country? I want to hear about all of that. I want to hear about that with the CIA, whole bunch of people that you asked to resign or take off or take severance back, whatever you did. I want to hear that with Di. I want to hear that about the FBI. I want to hear about everything. Because are you doing what you doing to find money to make it look like we're doing better? Because we've located where the money has gone and, and, and, and we've identified where excessive spending needs to be targeted so we don't have to worry about that anymore.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Are you doing it to dismantle the government in such a way that we don't really have one and we're at the behest and the mercy of Donald Trump and Elon Musk? Because if the latter is true, then our democracy is in danger. An autocracy is being entertained. If the latter is true, we don't know. Perhaps we'll find out sooner than later. But I know this much. I want to know where the money is, where the money is gone and who the hell's been spending it and how much did they take for themselves. Yeah, I want to know that. Even if it comes from some South African dude worth billions that has no relation to me whatsoever, my interest is in where the money resides. Where the money resides. Where the money resides. Where the money resides. Okay. That's all I got to say about that.

[Caller]

Coming up, Sean Diddy Combs slaps NBC universal with a 100 million dollar lawsuit. Will it mean anything for his upcoming trial?

[Stephen A. Smith]

I'll get into that. But first, what the hell is going on with Kanye West. I've got the latest headlines on the disturbing headlines surrounding this brother. All that and more next right here on the Stephen A. Smith Show. Don't go away. Welcome back to Stephen A. Smith Show. I should say I want to, but I really don't want to. But I have to get into Kanye west and his series of disturbing headlines surrounding this entertainer. I can't. I don't even know I can call him entertaining anymore, but stuff he's getting himself into. West has been sued and dropped by his talent agency after he posted a stream of antisemitic views on X. That account has since been shut down.

[Caller]

He also put T shirts with a.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Swastika on sale in his online shop. That was also deactivated by Shopify. The company issued a statement that read in part quote, all merchants are responsible for following the rules of our platform. This merchant did not engage in authentic commerce practices and violated our terms. So we removed them, end quote. And yesterday, a former employee of west filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles accusing him of wrongful termination, citing gender and religious discrimination. The woman, who is Jewish, alleged he fired her after sending a series of anti Semitic text messages. West was not. Has not commented on a lawsuit or the actions of Shopify that shut down his online website. You know, it's real easy to insult Kanye West. Yay. I'm not going to do that. I'm going to make a plea. I'm going to try to talk to the brother. Kanye west is one brilliant dude. His artistry and the brilliance of that artistry cannot be denied. Once a billionaire, who knows what he is now, with the damage that he has done to his brand, speaks for itself, and we don't need to revisit that. But, my brother, what are you trying to do? Have you really asked yourself that question? You see, ladies and gentlemen, so many people. I'm not going to go there because I know Kanye west lost his mother. I lost my mother after a long battle with cancer. I can sincerely say to you from the bottom of my heart, there is no pain that I have ever felt in my life that comes close to the pain of losing my mother. I'm not going to bore y'all with this. I've told y'all this in the past. I think of her every day, every night. Anybody who's had a wonderful mom in their life, I can assure you there is never a full 24 hours that goes by that misery doesn't touch you simply because she's not there. She's not there to hug she's not there to get on you, scream at you, hug you, love you, or whatever you just miss. I'd give anything to see my mother right now yelling at me, getting on me about something stupid I may have done. There is no pain. I don't. Outside of a parent losing their child, there is no pain greater than losing a good mama or a great one. Anybody that lost their mother knows what I'm talking about, especially the dudes. Not to dismiss women.

[Caller]

Of course you love your mamas and stuff like that, but you have just.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Like, women could be daddy's girls, boy, men could be mama's boys, and you know what I'm saying. People have speculated that Kanye hasn't been the same since his mom passed away. The only part about that that's alarming as opposed to understanding is that whether it's grabbing a mic from Taylor Swift and talking about how Beyonce deserved the award instead of her years ago, or the myriad of things he has done since, there seems to be no regard for the potential hurt and pain that he may cause others. In a moment, courtesy of one of his diatribes, and at some point in time, that's got to end. I remember one of the most riveting moments I saw on video social media was when my man Van Lathan was working for tmz and Kanye west came to this studio and said a few things. And I don't recall what it was, but I remember Van Lathan laid him out with such eloquence, with such sincere, heartfelt disappointment. Even Kanye had to roll up on him and say, come on, brother, let me talk to you. Because Van acknowledged, oh, man, I'm hurt, brother, by what you're saying.

[Caller]

Anybody just. Just Google Van Lathan, Kanye, I promise.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You it'll show up. When Van, Van late, then Kanye, tmz, you just find yourself looking at Yay these days and wondering, who's the next Van Lathan that you gonna hit like that, that's gonna be in a position to tell you what you doing is so wrong and so unnecessary. I am not disrespecting Yay. Not trying to do that. He's doing that to himself. I'm not bringing up his wife. That's his business. It's far more serious than, you know, what we talk about with Serena and her husband. All that stuff that was just fun. This is some serious stuff here. And I just hope that somebody's able to touch Yay in a way that can get him to stop doing this. And you don't have to go back to giving us beautiful music and all of this other stuff. You can simply go away and live.

[Caller]

Your best life.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Or try to be a constructive voice that really, really touches on the issues in a constructive way that would provoke people wanting to listen to what you have to say instead of running, instead of wanting to away from your words because they're too piercing, too damaging and too unnecessary. That's all I want to say about that. I wish a nothing but the best, but he just seems to be on this mission. You know what they say, hurt people, hurt people. He seems to be hurt and determined to distribute hurt. And I just don't understand it because he's such a brilliant, brilliant brother. I just don't understand it. Before I get on out of here, I want to address the latest news on Sean Diddy Cones Combs, lawyers for the music Mogul filed a $100 million lawsuit today accusing NBC Universal and Peacock for defamation. The suit is related to claims made by accusers in the documentary Diddy the Making of a Bad Boy, released earlier this year. The documentary makes several claims against Combs, including the sexual assault of minors, and accuses him of murdering a series of rivals and close friends, including longtime partner Kimberly Porter. Rappers Christopher Biggie Wallace, of course, Notorious BIG And Heavy D, whose given name is Dwight Arrington Myers. Diddy's attorneys released a statement related to the suit that reads in part, quote, in making and broadcasting these falsehoods, among others, the companies seek only to capitalize on a public's appetite for scandal without any regard for the truth and at the expense of Mr. Combs. Right to a fair trial. Mr. Combs brings this lawsuit to hold them accountable for the extraordinary damage their reckless statements have caused, end quote. Combs is currently being held in jail on federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges. As you all know, his trial is expected to begin later this spring. Let me say this because it's important. I don't know about the innocence or guilt of P. Diddy. One could easily presume he's guilty because of the video we saw of him beating up his ex girlfriend, Cassie Ventura. One would surmise, based on these docu series that have been put out about him, that there's a strong level of guilt. I had one person look at me and say if, if any of it is true, he's a monster. Here's what I have to say. His lawyer is right. His lawyer is right. Ladies and gentlemen, this is America. You are innocent until proven guilty in the court of law. For those of you quick to say that's not applicable to the court of public opinion. Let me remind you of something. While that is true, undoubtedly so, it does not negate the fact that the court of public opinion can influence the court of law.

[Caller]

And by virtue of that reality, certain things shouldn't be exposed to the court of public opinion until a trial takes place. See, that's the problem. I said this a couple of weeks ago. It is wrong for these networks to be allowed to do these kinds of shows on him before his trial. Do whatever you got to do. I don't. I watch all the OJ Stuff if you want me to. I remember when, when, when. When Courtney Vance imitated Johnny Cochran. He was sensational, okay? Watching, you know, the OJ Stuff, and I get that. But to do something before the trial.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Makes it that much harder for the defense team to find a jury of his peers who are unbiased and neutral.

[Caller]

And would only judge based on the evidence presented in a court of law.

[Stephen A. Smith]

It's not right.

[Caller]

Even if he's guilty. It's not right since his guilt hasn't been proven yet. For somebody to be allowed to be broadcast in these pieces talking about him, he can't defend himself. He can't say anything. He's at the mercy of former handlers, former employees, former colleagues, former girlfriends and all this. He can't say anything because he got to deal with sex trafficking and racketeering charges. And now is when everybody comes out with this.

[Stephen A. Smith]

There's just something wrong with that. There's something wrong with that. Innocent until proven guilty news is one thing.

[Caller]

The video by CNN exposing and beating up Cassie Ventura, that. That's news. That's news. You know, another charge coming down the pike, another alleged victim, that's news. But a docu series with a bunch of allegations being thrown out about who he was, what he did, how he lived, who he did it to, whether or not drugs and alcohol were involved or baby oil and all of this other stuff. Wait a minute. Homeland Security coming out with us. That's news. That's news.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Dana, docu series. That ain't scandal, you know, that's news.

[Caller]

That ain't scandal. Ain't what? What? How do you get away with murder? Dexter, Ray Donovan and like that? No, ain't supposed to be that.

[Stephen A. Smith]

This is supposed to be the news until the trial. So I applaud his lawyer for taking this position. And I think it's important that he.

[Caller]

Puts forth the best defense for himself.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Possible, because indeed, it is absolutely true that his life is on the line. His brother's in trouble in a world of freaking trouble. And I just hate to see stuff publicized before he goes to trial. It should have been during or after.

[Caller]

And during.

[Stephen A. Smith]

If they're secluded and they don't have access to see the docu series that's being put out about them, it's like the. It's like there's too many people out there trying to influence the public to.

[Caller]

Convict them in the court of public opinion, thereby insinuating that it would influence.

[Stephen A. Smith]

The court of law. That ain't what our country is supposed to be about. It just isn't. I got to get on out of here, but I'll be back in the next couple of days. Ladies and gentlemen, I hope y'all enjoyed the show. Thanks again to the wonderful Tory Cooper for coming on and bringing balance to my discussion about Serena Williams and her husband and man and woman, women and our insecurities and all of this other stuff. It's necessary to talk about that stuff sometimes, right? I give thanks to my little nephew Josh, you know, for lying to the public about how he was stuck in the airport because it was clearly a scene for video because I'd be damned if he was stuck in the damn airport. That's three days. Please stop. But that's what he wants to say to y'all. So be it. Until next time, everybody. Peace out and love. Is Stephen A. Signing off? Talk to you later.

[Advertiser]

What's up, everyone? It's Greg Rosenthal, and I'm teaming up with the king of spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that we're going to be bringing you 40s and free agents, the only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season, from DJs, mock drafts to my top 101 free agents will have it covered for you with all new episodes every Thursday, keeping you up to date as we head to the NFL Draft. Listen to 40s and free agents starting on March 6th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Larison Campbell]

What's up, everyone? Julius Ripps here, along with former NHL player Nate Thompson.

[Geico Voiceover]

We're doing a new podcast together. Here we go.

[Larison Campbell]

The name Energy Line with Nate and jsb.

[Geico Voiceover]

Each week we'll get together and talk about hockey life. All topics are fair game, right?

[Larison Campbell]

Exactly. And you'll never know who will drop by to join us.

[Geico Voiceover]

Julie is pretty well connected. She has text threads going that you wouldn't believe.

[Larison Campbell]

Listen to Energy Line with Nate and JSB on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.