On a recent installment of his eponymous show, Stephen A. Smith called out the BET Awards over the decision to include O.J. Simpson in its in-memoriam segment.
"Did y'all see the in memoriam segment paying tribute to quote, 'Black excellence,' that we unfortunately lost this year?" he opened the portion of the show. "There was a notable silence from the crowd when the image of O.J. Simpson appeared on the big screen. You may recall O.J. Simpson died this past April after a battle with cancer. Yes, he is known for being a Hall of Famer on the football field out of USC, and ultimately with the Buffalo Bills in his NFL career, but he was also accused of double murder!"
When Simpson's face turned up during the segment, where he was remembered as a "former NFL Player," the audience greeted it with uncomfortable laughter. While Simpson had a successful career in the NFL and appeared in several movies in supporting roles, he is most remembered in the public eye for being put on trial for the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman in 1994.
"O.J. was acquitted of those charges in 1995, but later found liable for their deaths a few years later in a civil trial," Smith continued. "The families of Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman obviously criticized the BET Awards for paying tribute to Simpson. As well they should, I don't blame them one bit."
Smith said it was clear that the moment left attendees "aghast," and a lot of them were shocked by it. He also took a moment to shout out Cam'ron and Mase, who got Simpson to appear as a guest on their It Is What It Is podcast multiple times.
"In the eyes of most people, regardless of an acquittal, O.J. Simpson is a double-murderer," he said. "He was ostracized and considered a pariah by the vast majority of American citizens. ... I love Mase and I love Cam'ron, and I know what respect they have for O.J., I'm not casting any aspersions on anybody like that. They have their relationship with them and that's their business, more power to them. My attitude is this: O.J. Simpson never gave a shit about Black people until he was indicted. Never gave a damn."
Smith referenced Simpson's infamous "I'm not Black, I'm O.J." quote, which he said just reiterates his point. "I'm looking at it from the standpoint of... How should the family of Carl Weathers feel?" he said, looping back to the in-memoriam segment. "How should the family of Bill Cobbs? ... He was a legendary figure. How's his family supposed to feel when they're mentioned in the same breath as O.J. Simpson? Think about that for a second."
He concluded that there's "just no reason to celebrate this man," even if he believes he should "rest in peace."
"We should never talk about him again. Here's the bigger issue: we should never be given a reason to talk about him again," he said. "We certainly shouldn't be celebrating O.J. Simpson. I'm sorry, not when two people were damn near decapitated and he was the prime suspect and we know that an overzealous police department effed up the case. Which, ultimately, got him acquitted because he had one of the greatest lawyers this nation has ever known in Johnny Cochrane."
He wrapped up the segment by asking whether the Oscars will celebrate Woody Allen and Bill Cosby in their imemoriam segments when they die. "It's gonna be interesting to see what others do," he said.
Watch the full segment up top.
