Stephen A. Smith defended his former colleague Skip Bayless regarding the lawsuit that accused him and other Fox Sports personalities, such as Joy Taylor, of inappropriate behavior in the workplace.
On the latest episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show on YouTube, Smith gave his thoughts on the lawsuit filed by Noushin Faraji that claimed Bayless tried to make a move on her for several years and even tried to pay her $1.5 million to have sex. Bayless hasn't responded to the allegations as of press time.
According to Smith, he has a hard time believing the allegations against Bayless, especially since he's very cheap with money. Smith also explained that he knew nothing about the lawsuit besides what people had told him and that he'd mind his own business regarding the situation.
"Here's what I would tell you… I've known Skip for [25 years], I can't imagine it. I can't imagine it. Especially when they brought up the $1.5 million, the Skip Bayless I know has a hard time giving away $15. He's one of the cheapest people I know," said Smith. "But that doesn't mean that I had any inside knowledge about any of this. I don't and I'm not going to get involved."
Smith also reflected on his time working alongside Bayless and how he would never guess his former co-host was capable of the alleged conduct in the lawsuit.
"Imagining him being in this kind of position is shocking to say the least," Smith added. "All I can tell you is that it's not the Skip Bayless I know. But obviously this is a legal matter he's going to have to deal with because this situation doesn't appear to be going away. This person who is a hair stylist, the people that I've spoken to in the last 24 hours that have some knowledge about her says that she's meticulous with her details and she's going to chronicle things and that's how she operates."
He added, "I don't know her. I know Skip and I'm very, very heartbroken that he finds himself in this situation being accused of these allegations. But I can't be all over the airwaves being irresponsible and attaching truth or guilt to anything."
Lastly, Smith claimed Bayless is not sociable and keeps his life very private. He also added that he has a specific way of handling his affairs.
"I also feel it's important that if you know people, or you think you know people, and you've had a longstanding relationship with those people, that it's not a crime for you to say the person I know … the person I've worked with — in his case for four straight years from 2012 to 2016 doing First Take… the person that I've seen really, really trusts almost no one and doesn't expose himself to anybody," Smith said.