Stephen A. Smith isn’t holding back—and this time, his usual debate isn’t with fellow sports pundits, but with former First Lady Michelle Obama.
In a fiery response to remarks Obama made during a recent episode of her “Michelle Obama: The Light Podcast (IMO)”, Smith addressed both her dig at ESPN and First Take—likening the network’s flagship show to The Real Housewives of Atlanta—and her past political comments that he says unfairly labeled Donald Trump voters, including Black men.
Appearing on Fox News with Sean Hannity, Smith launched into a full-throated defense of himself and his legacy.
“You can say Stephen A. Smith is a lot of things and will be a lot of things,” he told Hannity. “The one thing you can never say about me is that I’m going to be a housewife.”
Obama’s Comment That Sparked the Feud
Michelle Obama, speaking with her guests on the podcast, made a comparison that didn’t sit well with Smith.
“If I listen to ESPN for an hour, it’s like watching The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” Obama said. “It’s the same drama, and they’re yelling at each other, and they don’t get along, you know? I mean, Stephen A. Smith—he’s just like every other talk show host.”
One of the guests jokingly added that Smith would make a great “Real Housewife,” a line that quickly went viral and sparked outrage from fans and commentary from Smith himself.
RELATED: Stephen A. Smith Admits He’s ‘Still a Bit Salty’ About Michelle Obama’s Trump Voter Remarks
Smith Responds: “She Leaves Sports to Her Husband”
On Hannity, Smith not only rejected the “housewife” label but said Obama’s comparison showed a fundamental misunderstanding of sports broadcasting.
“She compared sports debate television to reality shows where people are yelling for the sake of drama. That’s not what we do,” Smith said. “These are the greatest athletes in the world we’re talking about—this isn’t reality TV gossip.”
Smith then took a direct jab, saying the comment revealed that Obama doesn’t really follow sports and instead “leaves that to her husband,” Barack Obama.
“When she talked about First Take, she described us as if we hate each other. We don’t. We argue about sports. We laugh, we joke, we have a blast. That’s why we’ve been No. 1 for 13 straight years.”
The Political Angle: Trump Voters and the 2020 Election
But Smith’s frustration with Michelle Obama goes beyond the pop culture comparison. He took particular issue with comments she made during the 2020 campaign, when she suggested that a vote for Trump was a vote against women, including Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I took major offense to that,” Smith said. “There are people who vote based on the economy, on immigration, on safety in their neighborhoods. You can’t reduce all of that to identity politics.”
Smith added that Barack Obama also made troubling remarks when he told young Black men in Pittsburgh that failing to vote for Harris was an act of misogyny.
“For a long time, there’s been a mischaracterization that Black men don’t support Black women. That’s just not true,” Smith argued. “We support who we believe in—gender has nothing to do with it.”
He didn’t stop there, delivering a pointed critique of Harris’ political support, suggesting that her lack of widespread appeal—not gender bias—was why voters didn’t rally behind her in 2020.
“If Kamala Harris had the trust of the public to lead this country, she’d have gotten the 77 million votes instead of Joe Biden or Donald Trump.”
Stephen A. Smith Claps Back at Michelle Obama: “The One Thing I’ll Never Be Is a Housewife”
“You can say Stephen A. Smith is a lot of things — and will be a lot of things.”
“The one thing you can never say about me is that I’m going to be a housewife. There’s no confusion… pic.twitter.com/MIL0mxEID7
— TMSPN.com (@sportsgossip) August 5, 2025
A Personal Yet Public Clash
While Smith emphasized that he personally respects Michelle Obama, he made it clear that he wouldn’t stay silent in the face of what he saw as unfair and dismissive remarks.
“Michelle Obama, I truly do revere you, but I’m still salty,” he said. “Because what you said didn’t just minimize me—it dismissed millions of people who tune in to sports media and vote based on their own values.”
The rift has sparked a wide response across social media, with many defending Smith’s right to respond and others suggesting he overreacted. But Smith, never shy in a debate, appears more than willing to take on even a former First Lady—especially when he feels his character, his work, and his audience are being misrepresented.
As for whether this back-and-forth continues, Smith may have said it best: “There’s no confusion here. Zero.”
The post Stephen A. Smith Fires Back at Michelle Obama with Sharp ‘Housewife’ Jab After ESPN, Trump Voter Remarks appeared first on TMSPN.
This post appeared first on TMSPN
About the Author
