Don Lemon Accuses Stephen A. Smith of ‘Cozying Up to White People’ With Take on Minnesota ICE Shooting: ‘It’s Gotta Be for the Money’

Don Lemon lambasted ESPN star Stephen A. Smith for “cozying up to white people” with his political takes — and in particular, his thoughts on an ICE agent shooting a Minnesota protestor last week.

The ex-CNN anchor said on his YouTube show on Friday that he does not like to publicly ridicule fellow Black media members, but Lemon said Smith left him no choice after saying the shooting was “completely justified”  from a law enforcement standpoint.

“I try not to criticize especially Black men, or just Black people in general, you know, because we get so much sh*t. The rules are different for us,” Lemon started off saying. “But Stephen A. Smith goes off and talks about sh*t that he has no idea about.”

Lemon said Smith routinely comments on events and people he has “no facts” about.

“He just gets on these like White boy, right-wing podcasts or his own show and just goes off about Black people and things that for which he has no clue,” Lemon continued.

He then started impersonating Smith speaking manically.

“It’s just shocking to me, this sort of cozying up to White people,” Lemon said. “And it’s gotta be for the money.”

Lemon said a moment later it would be a great business move for him to shift from being a liberal to a conservative.

“If I became a Black conservative, I would be richhhhh!” Lemon yelped. “Like a gazillionaire.”

Lemon’s harsh comments followed Smith talking about the shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good on his podcast on Thursday.

“I saw the video on numerous occasions and seeing what transpired from a lawful perspective as it pertains to a law enforcement official, don’t expect him to be prosecuted. He was completely justified,” Smith said.

He then asked from a “humanitarian” perspective, “why did you have to do that?

“If you could move out the way, that means you could have shot the tires,” Smith continued. “That means you could have got a few feet away after you shot the tires. And if you were unsuccessful in doing that, you could have got her down the road.”

Lemon said on his Friday podcast that Smith’s “stock and trade” had moved from sports to bashing Black people. Good, it is worth pointing out, was a White woman.

The former CNN star then said Smith was making a mockery of himself and Black Americans both dead and alive.

“Stop it, you’re embarrassing yourself,” Lemon said. “You’re embarrassing yourself all the way to the bank, but still, it’s embarrassing —  for you, for the ancestors, for young Black people and for all Black people.”

Watch above via The Don Lemon Show.