Joy Reid Unloads on Stephen A. Smith — Accuses Him of Profiting Off Anti-Black Narratives

Joy Reid is finally breaking her silence after her headline-making departure from MSNBC earlier this year. The network confirmed her exit in a staff memo that praised her award-winning work — including her 2025 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding News Series — and announced that rotating anchors will temporarily fill her time slot.

Her departure came as the Trump administration continued dismantling DEI initiatives nationwide, as Comcast’s planned to spin off MSNBC into a new company named Versant and needed Trump administration approval, raising questions about whether political pressure played a role in her exit.

But Stephen A. Smith didn’t hesitate to shut down that conversation. On his show, he framed the situation as simple:

“Nobody was watching her show,” Smith said, arguing that Reid’s departure boiled down to ratings and nothing more.

Now, Joy Reid is firing back — and doing so in a way that hits at a deeper critique many Black viewers have raised for years about Smith’s media persona.

In a new interview with Cari Champion, Reid directly addressed Smith’s claims.

“He said I got fired for ratings,” Reid said. “Sir, you got $100 million for a show with half my ratings at my worst. I had to Google his numbers.”

But Reid didn’t stop there. She took aim at what critics have long accused Smith of: exploiting Black culture — and Black pain — for corporate profit.

“They’re paying you not for your numbers,” Reid said. “They’re paying you because you’re willing to say the nasty things about Black people that they want to say, and put the denigration of Black women into a negro’s mouth.”

@carichampion Part 1 of 2. The conversation deserves 2 episodes. On this episode of NakedSports- @Joy Ann Reid joins me to discuss all things- her time after MSNBC. Her thoughts on where we are headed as a country. She also shares her thoughts on the #Diddy documentary! And lastly- her words for Stephen A Smith. She said what she said. @Black Effect Podcast Network ♬ original sound – championcari

Reid’s comments reflect a growing perception within Black media circles that Stephen A. Smith has become a lucrative mouthpiece for commentary that plays into harmful stereotypes — commentary that networks might be hesitant to put into the mouths of white hosts. The argument is that Smith’s animated style and willingness to publicly chastise Black athletes, celebrities, and political figures has turned him into a highly profitable figure for corporations eager for viral moments without taking on the cultural blowback themselves.

And financially, the system rewards him handsomely.

Smith is reportedly earning close to $40 million annually across his ESPN deal, his SiriusXM show, his YouTube empire, and his podcast. Critics say that level of compensation is tied as much to his cultural positioning — and his willingness to “perform” certain narratives — as it is to traditional viewership numbers.

For Reid, Smith isn’t just wrong about her. He represents a larger pattern in American media: Black voices being elevated only when their criticism is aimed at other Black people.

And for the first time since her exit, Joy Reid is making it clear she’s done staying quiet about it.