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Stephen A. Smith has confirmed what many people have suspected since Max Kellerman was booted off First Take: it was he who wanted his partner gone. In an interview, he confirmed that he felt that the chemistry between them had stagnated to the point that he needed to make a change to freshen up the show.
Since Stephen A. Smith is the face of First Take, if the two were not working together in tandem, it had to be Max Kellerman who had to depart, and he duly did. We look at how it all unfolded.
Stephen A. Smith confirms wanting Max Kellerman gone
Stephen A. Smith confirmed that it was at his insistence that Max Kellerman was fired from First Take in an interview with Ebro, Laura Stylez and Rosenberg. He acknowledged that while everything seemed to be working fine, behind the scenes he felt that the chemistry between themselves had stalled.
Stephen A. Smith went ahead and laid out the work that goes into making the show and said that when he was getting audience feedback that something needed to change, he was not going to hold back and let the show slide.
Stephen A. Smith went on to say that he felt it was the moment to make a change and freshen up the show so that the audience retained their interest and did not feel they were consuming a product past its sell-by date.
He went on to say that it was not just Max Kellerman who was letting the show fall into a rut; rather he acknowledged that as a tandem things were not as fresh as they used to be. He also admitted to being flabbergasted by the reaction this move had received.
Stephen A. Smith has no professional complaints with Max Kellerman
Stephen A. Smith confirmed that he still has a good personal relationship with Max Kellerman. He thanked his partner's contribution in making First Take the number one show for the last five years. He also said that the reason he was not hesitant or repentant in asking for a change was because he believed in Max Kellerman's talent to land a spot at any other place in the network.
Stephen A. Smith said he also saw no reason why Max Kellerman would be financially disadvantaged by such a move and decided to pull the plug.
