Stephen A. Smith has worked with a lot of media personalities throughout his career. He is currently experiencing his most successful stint as a TV personality with the ESPN show First Take. He first appeared on the show in 2012 with fellow commentator Skip Bayless. After Bayless left to join Fox Sports, Smith was paired alongside Max Kellerman. That partnership ended in 2021.
While appearing on a recent podcast, Smith opened up about his split with Kellerman, saying ”I didn’t like working with him.” Fans of the show had mixed reactions to this. Recently, a video of former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens calling Kellerman blacker than Stephen A. Smith on the show has resurfaced. Smith did not like Owens’ comments, and he let him know about his feelings on the show.
During the show that aired a couple of years ago, The former San Francisco 49ers‘ star said, “Max almost seems blacker than you Stephen A.” Smith took offense to this comment and let Owens know about it. After Smith’s recent comments on Kellerman, Owens retweeted this video on his Twitter account with the caption “FACTS!!!!!!!!!,” adding fuel to the already burning fire between the two.
Kellerman joined Smith on First Take in 2016. They worked together for five years. Kellerman was let go of the show in 2021. Since then, he worked on another show on the same network before being fired from ESPN in June 2023. Smith now co-hosts First Take with Shannon Sharpe, a former NFL player.
Stephen A Smith says he didn’t like working with Max Kellerman
Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman co-hosted the ESPN show First Take for five years. Kellerman was let go in 2021 after a fallout with Smith. In a recent podcast, Smith revealed why he fired Kellerman.
On the Joe Budden podcast, Smith said it was his fault as he did not like working with Kellerman. He explained that the show got stale after a point and needed change. Smith further said that he had nothing but respect for Kellerman. “I had mad respect for him from the standpoint of White dude, highly intelligent.”
Stephen A. Smith stated he didn’t like working with Max Kellerman. He also believes the audience might not have been as receptive to Max because he wasn't an athlete or journalist.
“I had mad respect for him from the standpoint of white dude, highly intelligent, Ivy League,… pic.twitter.com/WS6B8lVPnr
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 15, 2023Smith received a lot of criticism for his comments, but he has been vocal about the reasons behind the firing of Kellerman. He now co-hosts the show with a former NFL legend in Shannon Sharpe, who joined the show earlier this month.
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