Stephen A. Smith left his ESPN co-host stunned when he told a female colleague he was ‘turned on’ by her French accent.
During Friday’s episode of ‘First Take’, former WNBA star and ESPN basketball analyst Chiney Ogwumike was discussing the Minnesota Timberwolves’ playoff victory over the Denver Nuggets.
In her analysis, she spoke a little French as a tribute to the Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert after he impressed in their 113-96 win on Thursday night.
Once she was finished singing Gobert’s praises, Smith addressed her French accent and made a bizarre comment that stunned his co-host Shae Cornette, who was left covering her face in disbelief.
Smith said: ‘I gotta get a little personal for a second here. 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.’
Stephen A. Smith left his ESPN co-host stunned when he told a female colleague he was ‘turned on’ by her French accent
Shae Cornette was left covering her face in disbelief after Smith’s bizarre comments
While initially taken aback, Ogwumike took Smith’s comments pretty well and brushed them off with a laugh.
However, it is not the first time Smith has said something to create an awkward atmosphere on the ‘First Take’ set.
In 2023, he made an infamous vibrator comment to his former co-host Molly Qerim when he thought her cell phone was ringing while they were broadcasting live.
‘That’s Molly’s cell phone ringing, by the way,’ Smith said before Qerim pointed out it wasn’t.
‘VIBRATING,’ Smith then said. ‘I try to say ring. Do you want me to say vibrating on the air? You always like me mentioning vibrating on air with you with your phone.
‘You really want me to do that? You really want me to keep saying vibrating with your phone?’
Qerim was also seen mouthing ‘what the f***’ live on-air in 2024 after Smith bizarrely claimed she had gone from ‘just a host’ to a ‘supermodel in people’s eyes.’
And recently, Smith told Sage Steele on her podcast that he still likes to comment on his co-stars’ appearance ‘just to buck the system’.
Smith was forced to reveal he missed a show earlier this week because of dental surgery
Smith once told Molly Qerim she had gone from ‘just a host’ to a ‘supermodel in people’s eyes’
Earlier this week Smith claimed he was forced to miss Tuesday’s edition of ‘First Take’ because of a dental procedure – after getting heat for skipping the show in the wake of the New York Knicks’ defeat.
The Knicks blew a 14-point third-quarter lead in their playoff clash with the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night, with their stunning collapse tying the series at 1-1.
The morning after their Game 2 loss, long-serving Knicks fan Smith was mysteriously absent from his regular TV spot, leading to accusations that he skipped it due to his team’s meltdown.
But the ESPN personality wrote on X later in the day: ‘This is truly a sad day for me. Bad enough I had to miss @FirstTake because of this damn dental procedure, but to miss the show when BOTH my boys — @KendrickPerkins AND @RealMikeWilbon — are IN-STUDIO… on a day I was scheduled to be IN-STUDIO… I almost cried!
‘Love my boys. You, too, @shaepeppler. Damn this sucks. See y’all tomorrow!’
