January 11, 2026
Lemon called out Smith over his comments on the death of Renee Good, who was caught on video being fatally shot by an ICE agent.
Don Lemon publicly criticized ESPN star Stephen A. Smith over his commentary on the recent Minnesota shooting involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in which Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother, was killed while driving away in her car.
In a segment on The Don Lemon Show, which the former CNN stalwart hosts on TikTok, Lemon accused Smith of tailoring his remarks to appeal to white audiences. He also suggested that Smith’s comments on high-profile political topics are motivated by finances.
On his show, Straight Shooter with Stephen A., Smith claimed “from a legal perspective” the ICE agent was justified in shooting the mother of three in the face. Though, Smith said that as a “humanitarian” that the ICE agent was wrong, he placed the blame on Good, saying she “wrongfully disregarded a law enforcement official.”
Lemon took issue with Smith’s framing.
“He just gets on these like white boy, right-wing podcasts or his own show and just goes off about Black people and things that for which he has no clue,” Lemon said. “It’s just shocking to me, this sort of cozying up to white people.”
Lemon also questioned Smith’s transition from sports commentary into political and social analysis. He said Smith’s sudden desire to weigh in on issues beyond his expertise is suspect, to say the least. Lemon said Smith often speaks from a position of ignorance and risks reinforcing harmful narratives and undercutting serious conversations about race.
“Smith goes off and he talks about sh*t that he has no idea about,” he said. “It seems that’s become his stock in trade to make excuses for white people and to cozy up to people like Megyn Kelly.”
Lemon addressed a broader trend in which prominent Black voices on mainstream platforms come to believe that distancing themselves from Black issues can result in significant financial gain.
“If I became a Black conservative, I would be rich, like a millionaire, or if I just went on and started like bashing Black people,” he said.
Was this a note to Smith signing a $100 million contract with ESPN in 2025? Lemon didn’t name Smith or reference any specific deal, leaving listeners to draw their own conclusions.
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