Stephen A. Smith didn’t hold back when reacting to Monday’s drama involving Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards and Instagram model Paige Jordae, who accused the NBA player of impregnating her and then offering her $100,000 to get an abortion.
During the latest installment of “The Stephen A. Smith Show” on YouTube, the ESPN personality went off about the situation and elaborated on the “bigger lesson to be learned” after Jordae exposed alleged messages from the 22-year-old Edwards on social media.
“Let me say this, Anthony Edwards had to apologize because he is a public figure,” Smith began of the Timberwolves guard, who addressed the matter Monday in a statement on social media.
“Having said that, once again here’s the bigger lesson to be learned, guard who you deal with.
“Once again, I’m singing that same old dance — it’s none of our damn business who Anthony [Edwards] is screwing around with, who he impregnated.
“He has a relationship with this woman and she put him on blast. She took text messages and revealed them to the public. I’m starting to wonder what repercussions somebody can have for having their privacy violated? That’s what I’m wondering about.
“We live in a society, ladies and gentlemen, if Anthony [Edwards] wanted her to have an abortion, that’s his business. We have pro-choice and pro-lifers all over the country.”
Smith, 56, began yelling when he said he wanted to talk about basketball, but instead had to cover Edwards’ off-the-court matters “because she violated their private affairs.”
“She is a woman, she is free to do what she wants with her own body,” Smith said. “… If Anthony Edwards does not want her to have the child, that’s his business… I am not somebody who is a supporter of abortion, but I am a supporter of pro-choice.
“This is not for us to judge Anthony Edwards… the issue is, she put him on blast. She revealed private messages. That’s what appears to be the case, which compelled and forced him to come out with a statement addressing the situation because of the manner in which he spoke to her about his issues.”
Edwards issued a statement on his X account that read in part, “I made comments in the heat of a moment that are not me, and that are not aligned with what I believe,” after Jordae publicly accused him of telling her to get an abortion and that he does not want kids.
Jordae — who shared the alleged text messages in a series of posts on her Instagram Story — also posted a screenshot of a pending wire transfer of $100,000 on Nov. 27, 2023, with JP Morgan Chase & Co. at the bottom.
The image did not show the sender or the recipient.
Jordae has 1.4 million followers on Instagram and another verified account that has 416,000 followers.
Other messages Jordae alleged Edwards sent to her include “Just take the pills,” and “Ok just make sure I get da video of the box wit the right pills.”
An additional message read, “You got da money wats the hol up,” and “my attorney gone handle it.”
Jordae also shared a message that read: “I’ve never once ran to the internet about NO ONE. I tried over and over to handle this privately and my efforts were ignored.
“I’ve been lied to and manipulated by someone who knows exactly what they’re doing and takes no accountability for anything.
“Y’all always want someone to blame and I guess it’s going to be me.”
Edwards is believed to be in a relationship with girlfriend Jeanine Robel.
Edwards, the former No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, is averaging 24.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists in his fourth year with Minnesota.
The Timberwolves have yet to address the situation publicly.