Michelle Beadle Slams Stephen A. Smith After He Takes Over Her Radio Timeslot

Yahoo

3 days ago

Michelle Beadle just went scorched Earth on her former ESPN co-worker Stephen A. Smith, whose news this week that he's taking over her SiriusXM Radio timeslot this fall "blindsided" her because she found out via a story in a Hollywood trade magazine.
Beadle, a former host of ESPN's Get Up and the popular but since-canceled SportsNation, told Front Office Sports that New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau was more gracefully fired than what she experienced after learning about Smith's new gig.
"The Hollywood Reporter comes out—and there's his face. I was like, I should have known. That was just kind of gross,' she told FOS. 'I don't care that we're being replaced or what have you. It happens all the time. But a little respect would have been nice. Good Lord. I was totally blindsided. Just really embarrassed, to be honest."Smith appeared on The Howard Stern Show on Wednesday and announced his two new shows: a weekday sports show from 1-3 p.m. ET. Smith is replacing Beadle in that timeslot, a timeslot Beadle and her partner, Cody Decker, enjoyed for two years. Smith's also getting a weekly show that covers sports, politics and pop culture.
"In fairness, we do need more coverage of 'Jamal Williams' and other fun 'facts,'" Beadle ripped Smith in a subtweet.
Beadle and Smith have not gotten along ever since Smith essentially came to Ray Rice's defense amid the NFL star's 2014 brutal assault on his then-fiancee, which was caught on elevator security footage and first shared by TMZ. Beadle, at the time, tweeted her disgust at Smith's poor take on First Take. Smith was later suspended for that take and he apologized.
Beadle, whose contract at SiriusXM runs through August, admits "there's no love lost" between her and Smith. Then she really laid into him."I don't respect him. I don't respect his work. He doesn't like me. This goes back to the Ray Rice stuff. He made some really piggish comments on the air. I responded; he got suspended for [a week]," Beadle said. "I think that was sort of the beginning of the end for anything. I just don't respect him. I think he gets things wrong all the time. I'm not talking about opinions; those can never be wrong. But factually, when you spread yourself so thin, it's hard to be right. Not a fan.'
In the end, Beadle admits that the move boils down to business and the harsh reality that business can also be cruel, even to the most successful and popular figures.
'It's a reminder: We're just all pieces of shit to someone," the former YES Network host says. "If you forgot, there it is.'
Michelle Beadle Slams Stephen A. Smith After He Takes Over Her Radio Timeslot first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 5, 2025