Jemele Hill held a firm stance while navigating the dating scene. During her time as a prominent columnist and commentator at ESPN, she was clear about two individuals she absolutely would not discuss on dates: Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless. Hill mentioned this rule in an appearance on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, following the release of audio by Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe III, where an alleged ESPN producer portrayed Smith as a racial caricature.
Describing the secret recording as “despicable,” Hill recounted how she would have sidestepped such situations herself. “It…kind of reminds me of a rule I used to have when I was dating,” Hill reminisced. “A long time ago when I was a single woman out here in the wild of dating, I had a rule that if I was on a date with somebody or in that kind of initial interaction where it’s like, ‘OK this guy’s cute,’ there’s some level of flirting that’s going on. If they ask me about Stephen A. Smith or Skip Bayless, immediately that dude was canceled. Immediately. Like no, I don’t want anything to do with you.”
During Hill’s rise at ESPN, the two First Take personalities were major figures, with their opinions and personas continuously drawing interest. A date might naturally be curious about Smith and Bayless, but for Hill, such inquiries highlighted a troubling celebrity-chasing mentality. It also signified a total lack of interest in the actual date.
“There is nothing more unsexy and unflattering than when you’re talking to someone who’s a potential love interest and you’re … trying to get to know them and they’re like, ‘so what’s Stephen A. Smith like?’” Hill laughed. “Like, do you want to be on a date with Stephen A. Smith? Because this is doing nothing for me. Whatever arousal point I had in this conversation just immediately went to negative.” Working at ESPN is a cool job, but it’s easy to envision a date shifting from a romantic rendezvous into a game of “20 Questions” about all things Bristol.
