Last week was Jemele Hill’s last at ESPN. But have no worries, not only did she land a pretty good buyout, she also landed a new job.
Hill is teaming up with LeBron James for his new Showtime series “Shut Up and Dribble.” James is producing the series with his SpringHill Entertainment group.
Hill was originally supposed to be a guest on the show, but was asked to be the narrator following her
“I think LeBron, like a lot of people, has been very frustrated by the behavior of this administration,” Hill tells The Hollywood Reporter. “[Black Americans] feel very insulted and vulnerable within this time because of who’s in charge.”
Hill — who has covered the NBA for ESPN and began her journalism career as a sports writer (at the Raleigh News & Observer and then the Detroit Free Press) — was originally booked as an interviewee. But the fact that Hill famously expressed her dismay with President Trump in the wake of the violence in Charlottesville, Va., makes enlisting her all the more apt. After she became the target of virulent comments and threats from the alt-right, James voiced his support for her. “Once you’re in the club,” she says, “it’s something that binds you.”
Feuding with Trump is good for business. It’s also good if you want to team up LeBron on a new project.
