Rickey Smiley is finding himself in the position of having to answer questions because of rumors surrounding the sudden departure of now former “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Claudia Jordan from “The Rickey Smiley Smiley Morning Show” crew. Because there was no official statement on why Jordan left, speculation has mounted and questions such as What was happening on the show with Smiley, why was he losing yet another team member, and was there drama between the two?
And while the only answers coming from the Smiley camp seem to lend themselves to the standard “we remain friends and we wish her well,” a Rolling Out story cited anonymous sources who said they knew the real reason Jordan left; and that reason was Smiley’s discomfort: working with women — especially those that are funnier than him.
Apparently that was enough to push Smiley towards a meeting with Rolling Out to give his side of the story. The candid interview has Smiley going out of his way to rid people of the idea that jealousy played a role in the parting of ways.
Below is a segment of his interview with rolling out.
On the the persistent rumors when there is change on his team …
“The rumors don’t bother me, because it’s just speculation. I know the truth. And if I went on the Internet to try to respond to every single rumor, I would go absolutely crazy and out of my mind. Every singer, rapper, comedian and actor has people who have an opinion about them. Not everybody is going to think highly of you.”
On the real reason that Claudia Jordan is no longer with the show
“Claudia is a friend of mine. We’ve been knowing each other for 15 years. She came to do the morning show, and the company signed her to a one-year contract. Claudia did not leave ‘The Rickey Smiley Morning Show’ a day before her one-year contract was over. I don’t own the radio station. I own ‘The Rickey Smiley Morning Show,’ but I have people that I have to answer to that own these radio stations … so we have to deal with general managers, program directors, and the owners. When people collectively decide that they want to go in another direction, and they say, ‘it would probably be in your [best] interest because here is some research and some numbers,’ we have to continue to give the listeners what they want, and when they put out research that shows what the listeners think about the show, then we have to listen. But I want to thank Claudia for her contribution to the show. I think she gave us her best every single morning. She was very nice, and very pleasant to be in the room with, and we wish her the best. It was nothing personal.”
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