Stephen A. Smith has publicly apologized to Teyana Taylor and Iman Shumpert after admitting he shared false information about the former couple's divorce settlement.
The ESPN commentator said the financial figures he cited were inaccurate and that quotes he attributed to Shumpert were not authentic.
What He Claimed
The dispute began during an October episode of The Culture Table, a podcast produced by Smith's Straight Shooter Media. During a conversation about finances and marriage, he claimed Teyana Taylor received $25 million plus an additional $10 million in property and other assets, and alleged that Shumpert was left with roughly $2 million and nowhere to live.
Those figures, as reported by the outlet that first detailed the segment, were not established facts.
The Retraction
Stephen A. Smith has since pulled back the claims.
Those statements were inaccurate, and I want to sincerely apologize to both Iman Shumpert and Teyana Taylor.
He also acknowledged that remarks framed as Shumpert's words were never said by him. The quotes attributed to him, however, were not his statements at all, he said, adding that the financial figures presented were inaccurate.
According to Smith, the information came from media reports and social posts that credited the claims to Shumpert. He said he spoke directly with Taylor, who confirmed the circulating details were false, and accepted responsibility for not verifying before airing them. Reports say the original episode was removed after the controversy.
The Background
Teyana Taylor, a singer and actress, and Iman Shumpert, a former NBA player who has worked in sports media, married in 2016 and finalized their divorce in 2024. They share two daughters. In 2025, Taylor alleged that details of the settlement proceedings had been leaked, and Shumpert denied leaking the information. The actual settlement terms were not established by the now-retracted claims.
