Stephen A. Smith was compelled to refute a number of humiliating claims regarding his work.
The host of “First Take” is the author of “Straight Shooter: A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes,” a book that describes his ascent to prominence in the media.
He took some time to address recent rumors that he may not have written it himself and that it contains some lies when he spoke on that show on Tuesday. Most likely, Jason Whitlock’s recent piece headed “Does Katt Williams’ interview expose Stephen A. Smith as a fraud?” is the source of these accusations. Smith said,
“I can assure you, so help me God, I wrote my book,” “It’s my memoir. It’s my life story. I wasn’t leaving that in the hands of other people.”
Stephen A. Smith responds to allegations that he didn't actually write his book.
"I can assure you so help me God, I wrote my book. It's my memoir. It's my life story." pic.twitter.com/J2xQb7jryV
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 9, 2024
Co-host of “First Take,” Molly Qerim, supported Stephen A., telling him that since he had previously worked as a writer for several publications, he shouldn’t even waste time responding to these charges.
Another guest on the broadcast, Shannon Sharpe, asserted that she knew who Smith was talking about—most likely Whitlock—and that she didn’t understand why he was so invested in his book.
Given his platform, it seems sense, of course, that Smith would want to set the record straight on something like that. It is a serious matter to accuse a journalist of writing a book under false pretenses.