Sage Steele Says 'Every Single Question' Of Her Joe Biden Interview On ESPN Was 'Scripted' By Network Execs
Former ESPN host Sage Steele has shared that her 2021 interview with President Joe Biden on the four-letter network was entirely "scripted" by network executives. ESPN controlling every aspect of the interview with Biden as Steele alludes to is incredibly on brand for the network, but the details she shared about the entire experience are still head turning.
The pre-taped interview took place in March 2021 when many sports leagues were trying to return to normalcy during the pandemic while many athletes and fans were pushing back against vaccine mandates. The discussion also took place shortly before the MLB All-Star Game was moved out of Atlanta, a decision Biden supported, amid boycotts of the passing of Georgia's election reform law.
The sports world wasn't exactly in the greatest of spots, therefore Biden's sitdown with ESPN made headlines. But as Steele told Fox News Digital, every word of the conversation was scripted.
Sage Steele Details The Biden Interaction
"That was an interesting experience in its own right because it was so structured," Steele said. "And I was told, ‘You will say every word that we write out, you will not deviate from the script and go.’"
"To the word. Every single question was scripted, gone over dozens of times by many editors and executives. Absolutely. I was on script and was told not to deviate," Steele explained. "It was very much ‘This is what you will ask. This is how you will say it. No follow-ups, no follow-ups. Next.' … This went up to the fourth floor, as we said, where all the bosses, the top executives, the decision makers are, the president of our company, the CEO, where they all worked."
Again, none of Steele's allegations here are the least bit surprising. We're talking about the President of the United States, one who can't remember when he was Vice President, going on national television answering questions. It would be far more stunning to learn that Steele, or anyone else who interviews Biden on TV, isn't completely handcuffed when it comes to the questions, topics, and specific words they can say on air.
During an appearance on Bill Maher's ‘Club Random’ podcast this past fall, Steele spoke about the excruciating awkwardness that took place prior to the interview beginning.
"It was satellite, it wasn't in person. We're having a technical issue. And so I had to, like, BS. I had to chitchat waiting for us to start rolling," Steele said. "Well, what he started to do, of course he has someone next to him, and they keep a black, like, curtain over the lens of the camera, so you can't see him until the last second, but you can hear, and we're chitchatting… So I can hear him, and he goes, ‘What is this for?’… And he's, like, ‘Who am I talking to? Wait—what's her name?'"
"I was going, ‘Oh, my God!'" Steele exclaimed. "And then he said, SportsCenter on ESPN.' And he goes, ‘Oh, ok.’ And so I said, you know, what do you say? ‘Hi, Mr. President. Nice to meet you.’ And so I'm trying just to fill time. And he said, ‘You know, I used to play football'… And so he started to tell football stories of his greatness. And again, I can't see him. You can see the curtain… He goes, ‘And I have the best hands.’ What do you say to that?"
Steele's Filed Suit Against ESPN
Steele left ESPN in August 2023 after settling a free speech lawsuit she filed against the network and its parent company, Disney. She officially filed the lawsuit against ESPN and Disney in April 2022 alleging that the companies infringed upon her First Amendment and Connecticut free-speech rights by suspending her.
Steele was suspended by ESPN after she noted that COVID-19 vaccine mandates were "scary" and "sick" during an appearance on Jay Cutler's podcast in September 2021. She also spoke about former president Barack Obama calling himself black when, like herself, he has a white mother.