Megan Thee Stallion recently appeared on Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast, which you can watch in full here. And while the pair discussed a wide range of topics over the hour-long conversation, there are three main takeaways from their discussion. The first is that Shannon’s team clearly went the extra mile in preparing him for this interview in a way he hadn’t prepared for others; the second is that his podcast is becoming an increasingly important space for artists and celebrities. And lastly, he single-handedly helped Meg prove a point: that she deserves more respect than she’s been given by offering it up to her in the way he did at the start of the podcast and throughout it. 

 

On social media, it appears that Meg’s fans, affectionately known as “Hotties”, are mostly content with Shannon and his team for everything, from the production of the interview to the line of questioning. 

Others compared this interview to previous ones that he’s done, pointing out the addition of notecards and the improved quality of the questions which they say invited vulnerability from her.

 

What this implies is that the team understands how big of a deal it is to have her on the show. And looking at past interviewees, it makes sense that they would recognize that. Recently, people like Dana White, Ray J and Steve Harvey have made appearances on the show. But when it comes to fame and relevance, it’s safe to say that Meg blows all of these guys out of the water. So the team absolutely owed it to her to enhance the quality of the interview from Shannon’s typical locker room chat style and really use it as an opportunity to explore her mind and allow her to tell her story in her own words.

 

That brings me to my second point, which is about how Club Shay Shay is carving out its own space to be a place for celebrities to open up about their lives. I think that started at the beginning of the year, when Katt Williams left no bars held in his interview. I wrote about that here. Despite Shannon being woefully unprepared for the several directions that interview went in, that was kind of the beauty of it. But his team is realizing that with a bit more structure and editorializing, the podcast can really maximize its potential.

A huge sign that there was an added layer of professionalism and structure came at the very beginning of the conversation. It could not have started in any other way than him apologizing to her for sexualizing her on Nightcap, another podcast he hosts with Chad Ochocinco. That episode is here.

In fact, in announcing to her fans that she had been on the podcast, it was that particular clip featuring his apology to her that she shared to social media. 

 

One narrative I keep seeing on social media is how the Hotties would’ve given Shannon absolute hell if he didn’t conduct himself appropriately with Meg. And I don’t mean that in a sexual way. I mean if he faltered in any way in giving her the respect she deserves, in asking fair and logical questions, and even in his banter with her, he would’ve been dragged on social media. And because his team knew that, they were sure to start the interview off on the right note.

 

Most of Meg’s fans immediately clocked the point that she was trying to make in using that clip as promo for the interview. As this fan states, she is making an example out of him, warning others that apologies are owed. 

And Meg’s not wrong. Apologies are owed to her. She was treated horribly by the media, other celebrities and by fans when she accused Tory Lanez of shooting her back in 2020 – a crime he was convicted of and is currently serving time for. I wrote about that here. She became the opposition for several celebrities, with her shooting becoming a popular topic to mock in several rap songs, including ones by Drake and Nicki Minaj. I covered some of their beef in this piece. And even after his conviction, people still sided with Tory Lanez.

I think that’s why it’s SO badass that Meg agreed to be on Shannon’s podcast, his turf, so to speak, in all likelihood at the request of his team, and, without even having to prompt him, collected her apology. And the fan that suggested she was making a point is exactly right. It’s a slight to everyone that talked sh-t about her in the wake of that shooting and after Tory’s conviction. Shannon is a well-respected guy, particularly among people like Tory Lanez and Drake. Shannon’s demographic is full of people that doubted her in the first place – younger guys that like rap and sports. 

 

I’ve written about the role that Club Shay Shay is starting to play in celebrity culture, particularly as it pertains to Black Hollywood. And now that there are more Black women, including Kandi Burruss, Mo’Nique, Amanda Seales and now Megan Thee Stallion appearing on the podcast, it’s taking an even more important role, because there are very few places Black women celebrities can go to speak their truth – and more importantly, be respected while doing it. 

Recently, Tyla appeared on The Breakfast Club and a clip of her interview went viral after she refused to answer a question about race. I wrote about that here. When it comes to podcasts, there aren’t tons of places Black women celebrities can go and get the treatment – both literally and also from a journalistic perspective – that they deserve. So as much as Meg was making a point about the respect and apologies owed to her, I think Shannon and his team were also making a point about the respect they intend to offer up, or are at least capable of offering up.

Shannon is at a very pivotal point with Club Shay Shay. With over 3 million subscribers, and interviews racking up millions of views in days, he’s gaining a lot of ground on The Breakfast Club. And considering how relatively new he is, not only in the realm of podcasting but to having Club Shay Shay, that’s saying something. He’s already got more than half the amount of followers that The Breakfast Club has on YouTube, and that’s a show with multiple hosts. He, on the other hand, is hosting this on his own. Lainey just posted about New Heights and the potential for the Kelces with their podcast and referencing the huge deal that Smartless signed last year. It’ll be interesting to see how much bigger Shannon can get from here because his celebrity interviews are, arguably, a lot more interesting. How will Club Shay Shay’s value be assessed as it continues to grow? 

Join us at The Squawk to chat about this today. (app link here)