Former ESPN “SportsCenter” anchor Jemele Hill will launch a podcast exclusively on Spotify, titled “Unbothered.”
“I have a lot of things to say, and there’s not a lot of platforms that give you the freedom to not just be thoughtful but to come with a realness that not everyone is prepared to accept,” said Hill in remarks at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The Emmy Award-winning journalist spent 12 years at ESPN before she announced her departure in September. She pissed off many on the right when she tweeted that “Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists.” Two days later, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called the remarks “a fireable offense” and “one of the more outrageous comments that anyone could make.”
Spotify’s Studios head Courtney Courtney Holt isn’t worried about any potential controversy.
“At the end of the day, we want to enable creators to have a platform to speak their minds,” he said. “It’s about enabling creators like Jemele to do what they do best. It’s not an effort to go after controversial topics. It’s making sure it’s an authentic voice that wants to be heard.”
Hill plans to tackle sports and entertainment news with her podcast.
“Spotify and I are very like-minded,” Hill said in a statement. “We both believe in being bold and authentic. I am thrilled to get the opportunity to stretch myself in a much different way, with a support system that I believe will bring out the best in me. I look forward to sharing my perspective and experience with Spotify’s many listeners across the world.”
And and she promises to be even more provocative than she is on social media.
“Probably more so, because I get to curse,” said Hill, who joined The Atlantic in October as a senior staff writer covering race, politics and culture. “It’ll be an opportunity for me to be more unfiltered and more thoughtful about some things, and cover a wide variety of topics.”
Hill’s podcast will air twice a week, starting in March.
“Jemele is an important voice in sports, race, culture and politics, and their intersection in media,” said Holt. “She will bring her unique point of view to our platform with Unbothered, which is sure to be a favorite of listeners with diverse interests and viewpoints.”
