Stephen A. Smith Clears The Air On Michelle Obama 'Kerfuffle'

Stephen A. Smith insists there’s no bad blood with Michelle Obama, even if her recent comments hit a nerve.

The ESPN star addressed the buzz during an appearance on "CUOMO," telling host Chris Cuomo that the situation has been blown out of proportion.

“She’ll always be my First Lady,” Smith said. “She’s the greatest First Lady in American history as far as I’m concerned. I absolutely revere her. But it does have me questioning how legitimate of a sports fan her husband is.”

Smith’s response comes after Obama unexpectedly sparked the feud during a recent episode of her "Michelle Obama: The Light Podcast (IMO)."

While talking about her media habits, she quipped, “If I listen to ESPN for an hour, it’s like watching the ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta.’ It’s the same drama, and they’re yelling at each other, and they don’t get along, you know? I mean, Stephen A. Smith, he’s just like every other talk show host.”

When a guest teased that Smith would make a “great Real Housewife,” the sports commentator wasn’t laughing.

He fired back on Fox News’ Hannity earlier this week, calling the comparison “disrespectful” and questioning Obama’s sports knowledge altogether. “There’s no relationship [between us and Housewives],” Smith said bluntly. “These are some of the greatest athletes on the planet earth that play professional sports… as opposed to reality TV stars that can barely act.”

On "CUOMO," however, Smith tried to strike a more balanced tone, though he didn’t hold back on Barack Obama, joking that the former president was “too smooth, too cool for school” to ever count as a real sports fan.

“Every sports fan I’ve been around, we get loud, we get obnoxious, we’re passionate, we’re ready to throw stuff at our TVs," he said. "Meanwhile, [Obama] is just sitting back all calm while his Bulls win with Jordan and lose without him.”

Smith also doubled down on his defense of sports itself, stressing that “sports is reality” with “real talent, real competition, real athleticism,” unlike reality TV.

But the host admitted there’s another reason Michelle’s comments lingered with him: her past campaign trail remarks while stumping for Kamala Harris. Smith said he felt personally stung when she framed a vote for Trump as “a vote against women.”

“As a Black man, I was taken aback and, dare I say, offended,” Smith told Cuomo. “Everybody’s got their one salient issue, the economy, immigration, safety in the streets. To say that if somebody voted for that issue instead of yours, it’s a vote against you? I just don’t think that’s realistic.”

Still, despite the headlines, Smith insisted his respect for Michelle Obama remains unshaken. “That’s the only thing I’ve ever disliked about her,” he admitted. “Because otherwise, I think she’s wonderful.”

The back-and-forth with Michelle Obama comes at a time when Stephen A. Smith is openly flirting with an entirely new arena of politics.

Just days before his remarks on "CUOMO," Smith appeared on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," where he didn’t rule out launching a presidential campaign of his own. When Colbert asked if he’d consider starting his political career at the very top, Smith shot back without hesitation, “Why not?”

The ESPN veteran has spent over two decades dominating sports commentary, but lately he’s expanded his voice to politics through his podcast, where he regularly criticizes both Democrats and Republicans. “I’m a registered Independent. I don’t like either party,” Smith said, blaming Washington gridlock on partisanship that leaves everyday Americans “used as pawns.”

He blasted lawmakers for voting along party lines without even considering the merits of a bill.

“What’s that side voting? We’re gonna vote the other way because we don’t want to do anything they want to do,” he said. “The American citizens are used as pawns and I hate it. I detest it.”

Smith added that he isn’t afraid of stepping into the political ring if it means making a real difference.

“If I could leave the door open where I can have a voice and have an impact, I’m not scared. I’m not running. I would love to take some of these folks on, because I believe that what they have done is against the best interest of this country, and they need to be held accountable for it.”