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Ever since Stephen A. Smith launched his podcast, aptly titled The Stephen A. Smith Show, the ESPN mega-star has had a platform to not only discuss things other than sports but discuss whatever he wants.
And given that part of Smith’s bit — and, likely, his real personality, too — is that he’s cheekily out-of-pocket when discussing women and his love life, his newfound platform has allowed him to do things such as play “start, bench, cut” (a PG, sport-ified version of “f—, marry, kill”) with Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Aniston, and Halle Berry.
According to the 56-year-old Smith, the decision was “easy for him”, as he did not hesitate before naming J. Lo as his starter. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Smith then named Berry on the “bench” and “cut” the former Friends star.
“That’s easy for me, bro, Jennifer Lopez starts, okay? Because I’m thinking from the neck down, not just the neck up. You asked, I told you,” Smith began.
“Halle Berry, because she’s one of the most beautiful women you’ll ever meet in your life, and Jennifer Aniston is third, because of the reasons aforementioned points one and two. She would come in third place to that crop without question. I don’t think anybody would deny that,” he said.
Depending on the success of The Stephen A. Show, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Smith make the jump to full independence in the coming years to get both more control of his content and a larger piece of the financial pie.
Granted, Smith is currently making $12 million a year at ESPN — who likely see him as one of their top three-ish talents, if not #1 overall — so walking away from the network would certainly be a bold choice.
Smith not only stars on First Take but he also features on NBA Countdown, SportsCenter, and a variety of other shows.