Stephen A. Smith always has to weigh in on what’s happening in the world.
And just because it doesn’t involve sports doesn’t mean that Smith can’t give his two cents on it, especially since he started The Stephen A. Smith Show. It exists outside of ESPN, and gives him the ability to talk about some more controversial things that the “Worldwide Leader in Sports” wouldn’t want their million dollar man discussing on air.
Recently, Stephen A. decided to tackle the Garth Brooks story, which has rocked the country music world. A woman who claims to be a former employee of the country star accused Brooks of sexual assault and rape last week. Garth quickly put out a statement that claimed the allegations were false:
“For the last two months, I have been hassled to no end with threats, lies, and tragic tales of what my future would be if I did not write a check for many millions of dollars. It has been like having a loaded gun waved in my face.
Hush money, no matter how much or how little, is still hush money. In my mind, that means I am admitting to behavior I am incapable of – ugly acts no human should ever do to another.
We filed suit against this person nearly a month ago to speak out against extortion and defamation of character. We filed it anonymously for the sake of families on both sides.
I want to play music tonight. I want to continue our good deeds going forward. It breaks my heart these wonderful things are in question now. I trust the system, I do not fear the truth, and I am not the man they have painted me to be.”
NEW: In a statement from his publicist, Garth Brooks maintains his innocence and claims he has been extorted and defamed by his accuser.
“I trust the system, I do not fear the truth, and I am not the man they have painted me to be,” he says.
Full statement here. pic.twitter.com/Tu5p1O8cQp
— Elizabeth Wagmeister (@EWagmeister) October 4, 2024
Apparently, some of Stephen A. Smith’s fans were getting upset that the sports personality talked in depth about the current, horrifying P. Diddy situation, but had failed to touch on the breaking story about Garth Brooks. So Smith gave the fans what they wanted and touched on the allegations brought against the country singer.
He opened up the conversation by making it clear that what Garth has been accused is horrific and deplorable… and still not “in the same stratosphere” as what is going on with P Diddy:
“The first thing I want to say is that anybody guilty of sexual assault should be under the damn jail. I’m not feeling any sympathy whatsoever for anybody who’s been guilty of sexual assault. Raping a woman? Nobody should get away with that. But that’s not the reason I wanted to tackle this subject today.”
Smith then clarified that he wasn’t attaching guilt or innocence to Brooks, but instead wanted to lay out some of his thoughts on how Garth has handled the situation thus far. Stephen A. states that if he’s innocent, Garth should be commended for his initial statement, which highlighted (among other things) hush money and the negative elements that come with that.
But he made it clear to viewers of the show that as of right now, there’s a wide gap between what P. Diddy has done (and been indicted for) and the current situation unraveling around Garth Brooks:
“He’s been accused of very heinous acts. His response is to highlight that there was an attempt to extort money from him – and that it’s been going on for the last couple of months. And that he will not cave into it because if he were to do so, it would give the impression that he’s guilty of some of these things, if not all of them, and he’s saying he ain’t having that.”
In a way, Stephen A. is defending Garth without saying he’s innocent or guilty. He’s just saying that he’s respected how Brooks has responded to the allegations so far, as he elaborated on later in the show.
“I’m saying if – and only if – he is innocent of what he is being accused of, it’s a bit refreshing to hear somebody come out and defend themselves. I don’t advise it under most circumstances. I say let talk all the nonsense they want to talk because there’s nothing you can do about rumors and innuendo. You gotta just take it.
But he’s saying there’s certain things you can’t take. There’s certain things you can’t take at all. I’m saying, if you’re innocent… his actions since those allegations became public are what you like to see. Now we have to see how things fall out and go from there.”
You can hear everything that Stephen A. Smith had to say about Garth Brooks in the excerpt from The Stephen A. Smith Show below:
