What did Stephen A. Smith say about Jay-Z's s*xual assault lawsuit? Marcellus Wiley points out the difference in Smith's treatment of Shannon Sharpe 

Sports television personality Stephen A. Smith was one of the people to comment on the s*xual assault and battery lawsuit recently levied against his First Take associate Shannon Sharpe. Additionally, Smith also commented on the s*xual assault lawsuit filed against Jay-Z in December 2024.

Smith spoke up on Jay-Z's lawsuit twice via The Stephen A. Smith Show. The sports commentator was clear in his perspective on the allegations against Jay-Z and mentioned the same in a video dated December 2024.

"Anybody that's been around Jay-Z and knows him has seen him come to the defense of the most helpless amongst us, which are the children. I can't believe for one second that he would ever be associated with an allegation like this," he said.

Additionally, Smith called out Jay-Z's friends in February 2025 for not speaking in the rapper's support. At the time, Stephen A. Smith expressed his discontent and said that if people treated him like that if he was in a situation similar to the rapper, they could "go to hell."

However, Smith's different takes on the lawsuits against Jay-Z and Shannon Sharpe led former NFL player Marcellus Wiley to call him out via a YouTube video on May 2, 2025. In the video, Wiley pointed out the difference in Stephen A. Smith's treatment of Shannon Sharpe.

In his YouTube video, Wiley addressed Smith and said:

"If you really are being real on your own show, we saw you leave your boy, depart your boy. Whatever distance that was you did it and you don't believe me?"

Smith added:

"Go back and look at when Jay-Z got the allegations and watch how you rocked and then watch how you rock with Shannon, there's a difference for whatever reason we all caught it don't blame the whole crowd, maybe it's you as that common denominator."

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What is Stephen A. Smith's take on the lawsuit against Shannon Sharpe?

An anonymous plaintiff who is referred to as Jane Doe filed a lawsuit against former NFL player Shannon Sharpe on April 20, 2025, in Clark County, Nevada. The woman accused Sharpe of r*pe and inflicting emotional distress, seeking $50 million in damages.

Sharpe denied the allegations against him, only confirming one aspect of Jane Doe's lawsuit, which claimed that the two were in a consensual relationship. In the wake of the lawsuit, Shannon Sharpe also announced his temporary departure from ESPN, which led to Stephen A. Smith putting forth his opinion on the situation.

While the sports television personality's comments on the lawsuit against Jay-Z were in favor of the rapper, in his take on the Club Shay Shay podcast host's lawsuit, Smith clarified that his opinions were personal. Stating that he did not believe Sharpe would r*pe or assault anybody in a video dated April 26, 2025, he added:

“I’m going to state that emphatically, but just as emphatically, I’m going to remind everybody it is my opinion, because of what I feel about him, and not in any way imply that I know a damn thing beyond that, because I don’t know.”

However, the sports television personality also made a remark, spinning the narrative on himself. Smith said that certain people warned him against getting into "this kind of trouble," speculatively referring to Sharpe's lawsuit.

Addressing the same, Stephen A. Smith said that people need not worry about him engaging in certain kinds of behaviors and proclivities. This statement from the sports commentator amassed a lot of backlash.

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In other news, Stephen A. Smith made an appearance on Big Boy TV on April 29, 2025, wherein he displayed hopefulness about Shannon Sharpe making a comeback to ESPN soon. Smith also appreciated Sharpe's work ethic and declared support for his associate.