Molly Qerim surprises Stephen A. Smith as she celebrates his performance and admits ‘that felt good’, live on air

FIRST Take host Molly Qerim is smitten with fellow host Stephen A Smith.

Smith’s memoir Straight Shooter: A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes, published January 17, has stormed its way onto the New York Times bestseller list.

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It ranks fifth among hardcover non-fiction books, alongside works such as Michelle Obama’s The Light We Carry and Prince Harry’s Spare.

Understandably, Qerim wasted no time in congratulating Smith live on air Thursday after news of his success broke.

Saying that “we’re really proud of you,” she went on to explain how “Stephen A. is painfully private, so I was shocked that he even wrote this book and was so vulnerable, but it’s incredibly inspirational.” And I hope more people keep reading it.”

Qerim also described the book as “incredible” and “extremely motivating”.

Smith, who admitted to being “shocked,” took the time to thank everyone who had read or listened to his book, saying, “I’m not kidding, I’m really, really humbled beyond measure.”

But that wasn’t the end of the celebrations for Qerim, who later pulled out a money gun and, while blasting money around the studio, said: “This just feels right on so many levels. Someone who is now a New York Times bestseller.”

Unfortunately, the excitement was short-lived when she ran out of money, but a laughing Qerim admitted “that felt good.”

She later shared this clip on both her Twitter and Instagram feeds, and included another congratulatory message for Smith in the captions.

According to editors Smith and Schuster, Smith sees his book “doling out his signature, uninhibited opinions, but also revealing the challenges he overcame in his childhood and at ESPN, and who he really is when the cameras are off.”

Smith’s book has received good reviews so far, averaging 4.47 stars out of five on GoodReads and an impressive 4.9 stars on Audible.

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