ESPN host Stephen A. Smith defended celebrity model Amber Rose on Wednesday for her viral speech supporting former President Trump at the Republican National Convention.
Smith praised Rose for her remarks, saying the issues she brought up, like the economy and inflation, resonate with most Americans. He also slammed her online detractors.
"Y’all kick rocks with that," Smith said during an episode of "The Stephen A. Smith Show."
Rose, a former Hollywood liberal who once dated rapper Kanye West, was invited to the RNC in Milwaukee to share her own personal story of becoming a Trump supporter.
During the brief address, she detailed how her Trump-supporting father once challenged her to research the former president’s statements and policies outside the media lens, as she had been convinced he was a racist. She recounted how she took up his challenge and became a Trump fan.
"I realize Donald Trump and his supporters don’t care if you’re Black, White, gay or straight, it’s all love. And that’s when it hit me, these are my people. This is where I belong," she told the RNC crowd, which included the former president and running mate JD Vance.
However, critics on both sides of the aisle slammed Rose for speaking at the event, with some liberal commentators calling her out as a cynical bid to recruit minority voters, and some conservative voices claiming she’s not conservative enough.
Smith looked to silence both sets of critics, declaring, "I know that Amber Rose took a lot of hits. Y’all kick rocks with that. She did a good job. She did a good job."
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The self-proclaimed "centrist" continued, talking about how the model gave a serious, down-to-earth speech: "This ain’t Kanye West rolling into the White House to call Trump a superhero looking ridiculous. This ain’t that."
He clarified, "Amber Rose gave a good speech. She talked about gas prices. She talked about shopping. She talked about stuff that hits home. OK? And with her 20-plus million social media followers, don’t think people are ignoring that."
"You can dismiss her all you want to, and there’s a lot of people in the Republican Party – they didn’t want her there at all," Smith said, adding, "But she’s a conscientious observer, and Trump knew what he was doing by making sure she was on that stage."
Liberal CNN commentator Van Jones acknowledged the effectiveness of Rose’s RNC speech, stating on Tuesday, "That was probably the most dangerous speech for the Democratic coalition."
"That is a young woman of color," he said. "She’s describing the experience a lot of people have, feeling that maybe if you’re around too many liberals you might get criticized too much, or you might not be able to speak your mind. And she spoke to it really well."
