Stephen A. Smith delivers spiteful message at haters following ESPN's layoffs - “Y’all can kiss my a**”

Stephen A. Smith is not happy with some of the allegations made against him regarding ESPN's recent layoffs, with saw some 20 high-profile employees lose their jobs last week.

The outrage created on the internet as soon as news about the layoff became public had Smith as one of the biggest victims of the attacks, with many people pointing out that he had one of ESPN's biggest salaries and it could be the case for some of his colleagues losing their jobs.

But he wasn't happy with the portrait being made about his salary and took the opportunity to set the record straight during his podcast, which is hosted by ESPN Radio:

"Let me address something to some of the haters out there about me. Y'all can kiss my ass. Twice. I'm talking directly to the people in the industry who sat up there saying "Why isn’t he gone?" Ladies and gentlemen, we got a few people at ESPN getting paid more than me. They don't have a number-one show. They don't have the top ratings. They don't generate more revenue. How come y'all didn't bring their names up? And by the way, none of them are black. How come you don’t bring their names up?"

ESPN layoffs: Which employees lost their jobs?

Here's a complete list of on-air talent that lost their jobs during last Friday's layoff:

• Jeff Van Gundy
• Jalen Rose
• Keyshawn Johnson
• Max Kellerman
• Suzy Kolber
• Chris Chelios
• Matt Hasselbeck
• Steve Young
• Rob Ninkovich
• Neil Everett
• Ashley Brewer
• Joon Lee
• LaPhonso Ellis
• Todd McShay
• Jordan Cornette
• Jason Fitz
• David Pollack

ESPN expects to save "tens of millions of dollars" with the recent cuts, according to The New York Post. Disney reported that, in 2022, operating profit grew 56% to $12.1 billion.

There are some higher contracts in ESPN's payroll that should be mentioned before Smith's deal. For example, the company recently signed Pat McAfee in a five-year, $85 million deal in order for him to take his podcast out of FanDuel.

Whatever the reason for some of the backlash, clearly Smith's deal isn't the problem for the company. At the end of the day, ESPN will survive just like all the analysts who lost their jobs last week.

How long has Stephen A. Smith been on ESPN?

He has worked for the company since 2012 after a brief first spell from 2005 to 2009.