Joy Reid is taking aim at ESPN-turned-political commentator Stephen A. Smith following his recent comments about the former MSNBC host and the killing of Renee Nicole Good.

Smith addressed the criticism he's received from prominent Black women, including Reid and Rep. Jasmine Crockett, during a recent interview on ABC with Linsey Davis. The First Take host claimed that Reid's criticism of him stemmed from his previous comments about the cancellation of her MSNBC show.

“She’s responding that way because when she got fired by MSNBC, her show got canceled … I spoke on it. I said she is a talented, highly intelligent woman. I respect her. The issue is, if your numbers drop 47% and you are Black, in this culture that we are living in, did you really expect something else to happen? Of course, they were going to do that to you. I’m looking at it and saying, ‘I get it, and you might be right.’ But the manner in which you’re going about it, that ain’t gonna serve you well long term," Smith said.

Smith also claimed that only a “few” Black women felt critical toward him, framing Reid and Crockett as exceptions.

Reid responded to Smith's comments on Monday (January 12), calling out the commentator for sidestepping Davis’ questions and for his long history of targeting prominent Black women.

“I want you all to notice that he did not answer Linsey Davis’ question,” Reid said. “He just did his ‘I just have so much respect for these sistas’ schtick before attacking Jasmine Crockett and me with his same old bullsh-t.”

She also disputed Smith’s claims about declining ratings:

“That’s weird, Stephen,” Reid said. “Because I thought your whole schtick was, ‘You gotta prove it’s about race. And it’s not about race.’ But now it is about race? Does this mean that people who are Black that work at MS NOW should be fired, based on your formula?”

Reid highlighted Smith’s pattern of criticizing notable Black figures, including Michelle Obama, Kamala Harris, LeBron James, Jemele Hill, Serena Williams, and Colin Kaepernick, while rarely calling out conservative figures with the same intensity.

“You got a lot of smoke for Black folk, but when it comes to Charlie Kirk, Donald Trump, you have no smoke for them. If you’ve been criticizing the right as you’ve been attacking people on the other side, I need to see those clips. And Stephen, I just didn’t find the same smoke for the pro-facist side, the pro-racist side, the anti-diversity side as I found attacks by you, Stephen, against anybody Black who has a prominent platform," she said.

Reid also addressed Smith’s comments regarding the recent shooting of Good, an unarmed woman killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. Smith had offered a “lawful perspective” on the incident, saying the officer's actions were "completely justified."

“From a lawful perspective, I think you might need stick to sports,” Reid said. “What I’m saying, Stephen, personally, is that you wouldn’t have an education without men like Cleveland Sellers, nor the freedom to be loud and wrong while claiming Jasmine Crockett is loud and wrong, while you’re crying out for people to respect Donald Trump.”

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