ESPN insider labels Stephen A Smith 'Angry Black Man' and WORSE in leaked audio

Leaked audio revealed an ESPN insider referring to Stephen A. Smith as an 'angry Black man,' discussing how the staff views the television personality amid his rise in political commentary.

James O'Keefe, founder of far-right activist group Project Veritas, posted a clip to his X account on Friday, appearing to show a recorded conversation between LA-based assignment editor and producer Ryan Bertrand and another woman, according to O'Keefe's claims.

The audio seemed to capture the conversation between the two, during which Bertrand commented on the racial undertones of Smith's 'angry' on-air persona.

'We have this one guy, his name is Stephen A. Smith, he plays the angry Black man on TV,' the person, believed to be Bertrand, said in the clip.

'The angry Black man stereotype is basically, you're loud, you talk over people, what you say is not necessarily important, it's more how loud you are and how, I guess, you deliver your speech.'

Nevertheless, the ESPN producer acknowledged that Smith 'knows his role' and performs it 'pretty well,' adding that he understands why he's compensated so handsomely.

'He knows how to play that role pretty well,' Bertrand said. 'I think the higher ups at ESPN and Disney see that.'

The remark came just days after the star personality signed a new $100 million, five-year contract with the network.

Smith has also made headlines over the last month for his heated confrontation with NBA star LeBron James during a game in Los Angeles, a topic mentioned in the leaked audio in relation to how the network perceives him.

'He's like this angry Black man, that like, literally is cursing at LeBron James, or like, cursing somebody else or whatever.'

In the clip, another voice - unclear whether it's another person or Bertrand - can be heard as they said: 'He had been talking about LeBron's son for a while.'

'Long story short, LeBron confronted him at a game one time, like lately, or recently. Like, stepped up to him, and basically said, "Stop talking s*** about my son,' it continued.

'And then ever since that, Stephen A's been on four different podcasts, basically like, "I thought it was a weak move, coming up to me and whatnot." It's just this whole embarrassing thing that we're all like, rolling our eyes at.'  

The leaked audio, which touched on the recent animosity between Smith and LeBron, then shifted to discussing the ESPN staff's perspective, claiming that the network thinks Smith is simply 'crazy' and 'trying to create attention.'

'Which is his job, I guess,' Bertrand said. 'He gets paid a lot of money to do that. To like, create chaos, to create controversy, like an argument, that's like, his job, basically.'

Another voice comes into the audio and asked: 'So, he's a grifter?'

'Yeah, that's a good way to put it,' Bertrand responded. 'Very much a "Whoever's buying my bulls**t, I will sell you my bulls**t," which is like, Fox News sometimes, I guess.'

Aside from the disparaging race-related remarks and talk of recent controversies, Bertrand alleged that Smith has 'no idea' about major global issues, raising doubts about the credibility of his political commentary.

'He goes on Fox News probably like once a week, and he'll talk about, like, Gaza,' Bertrand said. 'And he has no idea about Gaza.'

Continuing, the clip said: 'He's talking about, like, his views on Gaza, and we're like, "Brother, you were just talking about the Lakers three hours ago. What do you know about Gaza?"'

Bertrand has since deactivated his LinkedIn account and changed his X account to the private setting following the release of the clip.

Smith has been a staple in the news over the past month, particularly due to his heated exchanges with LeBron James and his public challenge of President Donald Trump on national television.

Earlier this month, cameras caught James having a heated exchange with Smith as the ESPN star sat courtside for the Lakers game against the New York Knicks.

The NBA legend appeared visibly animated as he approached the sideline to speak with Smith, with the two having exchanged remarks in the media in the days leading up to their face-to-face confrontation.

Smith discussed the exchange on an edition of First Take, where he revealed that James confronted him about remarks he had made about his son, Bronny.

'That was LeBron James coming up to me, unexpectedly, I might add, to confront me about making sure that I mind what I say about his son,' he said after the clip of their interaction was played. 'I can't repeat the words because they aren't suited for airwaves.' 

'That wasn't a basketball player confronting me. That was a parent. That was a father. And I can't sit here and be angry or feel slighted by LeBron James in any way in that regard. By all accounts, he's obviously a wonderful family man and a wonderful father who cares very, very deeply about his son.' 

However, while Smith did admit he couldn't fault James as a parent, he did maintain that he is not in the business of making friends.

'I'm not blaming him one bit,' he said. 'I get it. I understand it. [...] But it's my job to talk about the subjects and the subject matters that matter. I work for ESPN.

'I'm not one of those that get into people's private affairs but what you do on a public platform for public consumption, that's what I cover. That's what I do for a living. And if you're in the NBA, that applies to you.

'I don't want enemies. I live a very good life. I like to make people laugh and smile and have a good time and all of that other stuff. But I also get paid to call it like I see it. And what I said at the time, I stand by what I said.'

The Lakers star earlier this month took aim at members of the NBA media, claiming: 'All the people that cover our game on a day-to-day basis s*** on everybody.'

The prompted Smith to accuse James of talking 'B.S.' He also claimed NBA stars have become overly sensitive. 

'No matter what we say about these players, there’s always something for them to complain about,' the ESPN star said. 'I thought he was full of it.'

'It’s that bad, it’s really pathetic... there is a lot of time spent celebrating players and celebrating the game. This is a global iconic brand. How the hell did it get there? You had something to do with that LeBron. It’s B.S.' 

Earlier this week, Smith took a furious swipe at Trump over his stance on DEI programs, urging the president to debate him on TV over the controversial topic.

Smith, who has emerged as a shock candidate to run for presidency in recent months, sits on the latter side of the debate after accusing Trump of 'forgetting' about the black, Hispanic and young voters who helped him return to office. 

'Nobody is calling out the president Donald Trump. I will,' the ESPN host and political commentator said in a passionate rant on a recent edition of 'First Take'. 

'And I'm not gonna call him names and all of this stuff like stupid folks on the left are doing, engaging in incendiary rhetoric. It's unnecessary, it's immature and it's uncalled for.

'He's the President of the United States, treat him with the respect that he deserves. But in the same breath, call him to the carpet for stuff that he's doing.' 

Smith then voiced his anger over Trump's DEI stance after his Department of Defense controversially removed an article covering the military service of baseball Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson, which was later restored and put down to a 'mistake.

During his tirade, he highlighted the president's take on the plane crash in Washington DC that killed 67 people earlier this year, which he blamed on DEI despite having no evidence to back it up, while pointing to Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host who was recently named Secretary of Defense, as an example of his hypocrisy. 

'When you look at the actions of this administration and you’re talking about DEI - diversity, equity and inclusion - and you’re equating that with black people and you’re using words like "unqualified". Remember, he blamed DEI in the immediate aftermath of the plane crash in DC where lives were lost. The first words that came out of president Trump's mouth were DEI,' Smith continued. 

'What evidence do you have president Trump? He had none, admitted he had none, but still lent itself to DEI. 

'Pete Hegseth is the head of the Defense Department. He has served our country with honor, I am not trying to knock him or denigrate him in any way. But the fact of the matter is, how is he not DEI?

'He was a soldier and then he was a host on Fox News on the weekends and he goes from that to being the head of a Defense Department that oversees more than 3.5 million people.

'How in the hell do you go from being a weekend host to being the head of over 3.5 million people for the Defense Department of the United States. He happens to be white, but we don't mention DEI when it comes to him.'

Smith concluded his rant by challenging Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Hegseth to a live TV debate on the matter. 

'President Trump, I’m happy to sit down with you to have that conversation, sir. I’d love for you to try to defend it,' he insisted. 'Vice President Vance, you too. Pete Hegseth, you too. Stephen A. Smith is calling you out on national television.

'I’d love for you to sit down with the cameras rolling and try to defend this. It’s ridiculous.'