ESPN’s hottest beef just got a new voice. Former MVP Cam Newton checked Stephen A. Smith over his controversial Serena Williams take, and the internet is eating it up.
The drama kicked off last February when Smith went nuclear after Williams appeared in Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show. She danced during “Not Like Us,” which is actually K-Dot’s Drake diss track, and Smith couldn’t handle it.
Cam Newton Claps Back at Stephen A. Smith Over Serena Williams Drama
At that time after the Super Bowl, Smith questioned why Williams would show energy toward her ex-boyfriend Drake while married to Alexis Ohanian. The ESPN talking head didn’t hold back while making his bold opinion clear.
“If I’m your husband, I’m thinking, ‘Why are you up there trolling him—trolling your ex?’ If I’m married, and my wife is going to troll her ex—go back to his a**. Because clearly you don’t belong with me. What you worried about him for—and you with me?” Smith said on ESPN.
“If I’m married and my wife is going to join trolling her ex, go back to his ass. Cause clearly you don’t belong with me. What you worried about him for and you’re with me? Bye. Bye.” -Stephen A Smith talking about Serena Williams at the Super Bowl
pic.twitter.com/E2iRVVpCBl https://t.co/teQ4CHRCj3
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) February 10, 2025
Cut it to now, Ohanian confronted Smith live on First Take. The Reddit co-founder interrupted a segment with surgical precision eight months after the segment.
“Stephen A. Smith, I think you had some marriage advice for me. Is that right?” Ohanian asked. Smith looked like a deer in headlights. He fumbled something about headlines before admitting he wasn’t qualified to give marital advice.
Per eonline, Ohanian twisted the knife deeper, saying, “You hadn’t been married before, right? Cause I give advice to plenty of founders who want to build billion-dollar companies. And the reason I do that is because I build billion-dollar companies.”
ALSO READ: “Indy Needs a Backup Behind Jones”: NFL Expert Urges Colts to Trade for Russell Wilson
This week, Newton’s sliding into the conversation. On his podcast 4th & 1, the former Panthers QB dropped some real talk about staying in your lane.
“If you cannot relate, do not debate. Because right there, being a married man, you’ve got to stand on business. For your household,” Newton said.
The 2015 NFL MVP didn’t stop there. He explained why Ohanian had to respond.
“If you can’t relate to that type of dynamic or situation, now you’re testing my gangster. Now you’re testing my manhood. Now you’re testing my household. Because my wife, my lady, my woman, will look at me differently if I let you slide on by,” Newton added.
Smith defended himself by claiming he was presenting “what most men would think.” But Newton’s calling cap on that universal man card.
The subplot here is that Williams and Drake reportedly dated on and off from 2011 to 2015. She married Ohanian in 2017. They have two daughters: Olympia, 7, and Adira, 2.
Smith later responded on his own show, saying he has no issues with Ohanian wanting to address the situation. But the damage was done because Smith got bodied on his own network.
ALSO READ: “Hurts Me Knowing Who He Passed”: NFL Fans React to Aaron Rodgers Making History
Newton’s backing the right horse. When you’re not married and talking about marriage dynamics, you’re throwing stones from a glass house. Smith learned that lesson probably the hardest or worst way possible.
