Stephen A. Smith just gave a master class on how to make a situation worse with an “apology.”
Suggested Reading
Last week, the “First Take” analyst appeared on conservative firebrand Sean Hannity’s Fox News show and defended Donald Trump’s absurd claim that Black people relate to his legal troubles. The backlash from Black Twitter was quick and brutal.
Smith’s response to that criticism is in the running for the most non-apology apology ever: Instead of remorse and accountability, he went on the defense.
“A lot of folks in Black America seem pretty pissed at me right now, from friends and loved ones to colleagues, contemporaries, and dare I say even the NAACP itself,” Smith said in a viral video posted Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter.
“Quite a few folks were put off, if not flat out offended after my words were interpreted as associating support for Trump from the Black community with all the legal issues he’s facing,” Smith said. “For that, I sincerely apologize.”
“To be clear, my words were misconstrued. I’m stating right here for the record that my words were taken out of context. Misrepresenting and depicting me in a way I found every bit as insulting and disrespectful as folks in Black America evidently felt about what they thought I said, but I’ll own it anyway. Because you know, please know that I know the buck stops with me.”
Smith’s response sparked even more outrage across social media platforms.
“Taken out of context? This is absolute nonsense. He meant exactly what the hell he meant. …Stephen A. Smith could take his explanation and somewhat apology and shove it up his ass,” said TikTok user @iamchanteezy_b in a video.
Her comments received tons of thumbs-ups. “Fake ass apology because he doesn’t want to lose that bag!!!,” Cookie Ducre responded.
“He meant what he said. Go away Stephen. No one wants your apology,” Diane Blackwood wrote.
On X/Twitter, Bishop Talbot Swan, the president of the Springfield, Mass. chapter of the NAACP, asked Smith to “enlighten us” on how we misconstrued his words.
During his April 28 appearance on “Hannity,” Smith initially ignited controversy by equating the leniency that Trump has received from America’s criminal justice system with the inhumanity and injustice that Black people experienced.
“As much as people may have been abhorred by Donald Trump’s statement weeks ago, talking about how he’s hearing that Black folks find him relatable because of what he is going through is similar to what black Americans have gone through, he wasn’t lying. He was telling the truth,” he said.
Straight From 
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.