Update 06/17/2022 12:06pm:

Skip Bayless recently addressed Stephen A. Smith's story about how he was asked to join "First Take," including claiming that the ratings were low. 

During an episode of his podcast, Skip explained why he was offended by Stephen's story, adding that the ratings were great when Stephen joined the show. Skip stated, "I thought, ‘how could my brother Stephen A. turn on me like that?’ On me? Seriously? Stephen A. was suggesting that he saved and then made 'First Take.' How can you save and make a show that was already as big a billion-to-one success story as ESPN had ever seen? The ratings and the revenues were impossibly great when Stephen A. joined me in 2012."

Skip added, "With Stephen A. as my partner, 'First Take' would never touch the NFL Monday ratings that it hit in 2011 pre-Stephen A. And I had taken 'First Take' as far as I could? Seriously? I was just getting started. The rocket had just launched the year before in 2011. Stephen A., how dare you." 

After Skip's comments went viral, Stephen A. Smith took to Twitter, where he stated that he is only commenting on the platform to address the situation. In his statement, Stephen explained, "

Skip Bayless is my brother," Stephen A. said. "I will always love this man and I will always be grateful. No matter how far I continue to climb, I have him to thank. My comments about the state of 'First Take' at that time is what I was told. It certainly wasn’t meant to slight my brother." 

Original 06/16/2022 10:38pm:

Update 06/16/2022 10:31pm:

Skip Bayless took to his podcast, The Skip Bayless Show, to address the origin story of First Take as laid out by Stephen A. Smith. Skip explained how First Take developed into the game-changing debate format that has made it successful even after Bayless's departure. He also acknowledged that publicly challenging Stephen A.'s rendering of what happened could cause some "brotherly" tension between the two, but it's something Skip welcomes considering the offense. 

Original 06/13/2022 4:48pm:

Stephen A. Smith sat down for an interview with The Old Man and the Three, where he spoke about his relationship with Skip Bayless. 

Stephen explained how when he and Skip were working at FOX, they were offered a show that was pulled at the last moment. Stephen added that he and Skip always wondered what their show would've been like, which is why Stephen agreed when Skip told him that he needed him to host "First Take." 

After pointing out that they were the #1 show on the network a month after he joined Skip, Stephen spoke about the only time his friendship with Skip was tested. Stephen explained that he didn't like when he was hearing about Skip leaving ESPN before Skip had told Stephen himself. Stephen then added that that only lasted a few hours, and the rest of his friendship with Skip has been unproblematic. 

"The only time anything came close to that was when I knew he was leaving before he told me, and I was like, 'What the hell’s going on?' So, I confronted him. For better or worse, I'm a straight-up guy. If I work with you, and all of a sudden, I’m leaving; you ain’t gonna find out from somebody else. … When he confessed to me what had transpired between his negotiations with the company, I understood why he couldn’t tell me in the immediate moment. But that’s literally the only thing that we’ve ever had any kind of issue about, and that lasted for like six hours.”