Jemele Hill Shouldn't Complain About Those 'Failing Up'

Jemele Hill should not talk about failing up.

Yet here she is:

It's not that Hill is wrong. Jimbo Fisher has once again #FailedUp. It's that pot calling the kettle black is cringe.

Jemele Hill has failed up her entire career. Or at least since she became a public figure.

Let's recap:

ESPN named Hill the co-host of a daily television program called "His & Hers" in 2013. The show followed "First Take" with Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless and struggled to maintain an adequate percentage of its lead-in viewership.

Yet ESPN promoted Hill for her efforts.

In 2017, the network replaced its flagship cash cow, the 6 pm "SportsCenter," with a new project called "SC6" with Hill and her male sidekick Michael Smith.

Since its inception, the network used the 6 pm hour to recap games; preview upcoming matchups; provide the latest news in sports; and appeal to sports fans, regardless of their race or political affiliation.

"SC6" served the opposite purpose.

The program focused less on sports and more on culture and politics. "SC6" interviewed fewer athletes and reporters, and more rappers and entertainers.

"SportsCenter" was Switzerland. "SC6" was divisive.

The ratings proved it.

"SC6" declined over 40% in viewership after Hill called then-president Donald Trump "a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists." The declines proved permanent.

Eventually, ESPN had to cancel the show. The network paid Hill "millions of dollars" to go away as a part of a buyout.

Hmm.

Jemele is like Jimbo in that way: their bosses would rather pay them not to show their faces.

FYI: The ratings for the 6 pm hour increased by double digits immediately after Hill's exit. ESPN bragged about it in several press releases.

After ESPN, Vice TV signed Hill and perpetual brat Cari Champion (ask her producers) to a talk show called "Cari & Jemele (Won't) Stick to Sports."

Hill made a lot of money at Vice, though it lasted only one season.

The program failed to register among the top 150 shows on cable. Viewership was that low.

Next, Hill signed a deal with CNN+. However, new ownership, Warner Bros.Discovery, torpedoed the streaming service after just three weeks. The company retained several hosts from the defunct streaming service for HBO Max, the television channel, and other projects. But not Hill.

Instead, CNN management -- per Hill's own words -- continued to pay her not to work.

One can't fail up without a proper contract:

At least Hill was able to tell her side of the story after her exits from ESPN, Vice, and CNN. Last year, she signed a book deal with Macmillan Publishers and released a memoir in October of 2022.

The cover of her book appeared on a billboard in Times Square.

Yet despite the upfront money, promotion, and fawning reviews Hill predictably received -- the book flopped. It was a dud.

The book sold just 5,034 copies after two months on the shelves. Independently-published books with zero promotion topped her in sales.

There wasn't much interest in Jemele Hill The Author.

Or Jemele Hill The Podcaster.

Spotify signed Hill to a lucrative podcast deal in 2019 as part of a push to increase black voices. Spotify routinely promoted her podcast on the homepage of the app.

And still, the title rarely appeared among the top 200 podcasts on Spotify. The episodes were obscure.

In fact, most people were surprised to learn Hill had a podcast when it was announced that Spotify would not retain her in September.

According to Bloomberg, Spotify was facing pressure to rein in costs and deliver profits, neither of which Hill helped accomplish.

Hill's stint at Spotify was perhaps highlighted by a quote in which she dared her employer to pay a black podcaster equal to Joe Rogan, regardless of that black podcaster's success.

“What I would like to see,” Hill said in an interview with the New York Times, “is for to hand $100 million to somebody who is black.”

Not her wisest moment.

Certainly, Hill has not failed as frequently as Bomani Jones. Though it's surprisingly close.

Still, history says this is not the end for Jemele Hill. Expect her to sign elsewhere soon, and probably for more money than previously.

Perhaps she'll land at MSNBC. Or back at ESPN breaking down football film with Mina Kimes. It's hard to say.

To quote Jemele Hill, "If Failing Up were a person":