The Kid Mero is telling Stephen A. Smith to stop fighting the backlash over his NABJ “Thumbs Down” award.
“Be accountable,” Mero said during Hot 97’s Group Therapy this week, after the National Association of Black Journalists rebuked Smith for what it called repeated disparaging commentary about prominent Black women.
Mero specifically took issue with Smith’s past remarks about Rep. Jasmine Crockett.
“You said some foul things about Jasmine Crockett,” he said. “You might have your feelings about people, but when you disparage people, others have the right to say, ‘Yo, that’s crazy, what you said about shorty.’”
“Take your licks,” Mero went on. “You’ve been doing this for a long time. If you’re a journalist, you’re supposed to have thick skin. And it feels like you don’t.”
Smith has made clear he does not agree with NABJ’s criticism. On his SiriusXM show Straight Shooter, he called the award “a personal hit job” and said he would “never speak” to NABJ President Errin Haines after she proposed speaking privately before joining him on air.
“The deed is done,” Smith said.
NABJ said Smith had shown “a recurring public pattern of disparaging commentary directed at prominent Black women across politics, sports, and media.”
“I was raised by Black women. I have two daughters. I have 10 nieces. I have four older sisters,” Smith declared. “What the hell are they talking about?”