Former ESPN Host Says Her Interview With Joe Biden Was Completely Scripted: ‘Was Told Not to Deviate'

Former ESPN host Sage Steele has stirred controversy by revealing that her 2021 interview with President Joe Biden was heavily scripted by network executives. In an interview, Steele shed light on the controlled nature of the interview and the strict instructions she received from ESPN’s higher-ups. Steele revealed, "That was an interesting experience in its own right because it was so structured. And I was told, ‘You will say every word that we write out, you will not deviate from the script and go.’"

The interview itself focused on topics such as the sports industry’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine hesitancy among athletes and fans. It gained attention when President Biden expressed support for Major League Baseball's decision to move the All-Star Game out of Atlanta in protest of Georgia's voting restrictions.

As per Fox News, Steele further revealed, "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,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."

“I knew this was a lot bigger than just the wonderful editors I worked with,” she continued. “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.”

Steele departed from ESPN after nearly 16 years with the network, This adds another layer to the controversy. She claimed that her free speech rights were exploited and that led to her leaving the network. She alleged that her appearance on the Uncut with Jay Cutler podcast was retaliated by the network.

As per The Hill, she expressed her disappointment with the situation and shared, "I think it's really heartbreaking that the people who love Joe Biden and say they truly care about him have allowed it to get to this point. So I'm not even looking at this from a political angle or my beliefs in anything. This is the human side of it. And when someone is struggling, we allow them to continue to be in the spotlight and put them out there in the first place when they knew there were issues? Of course, they had to know. So it's a humanity thing with me where I don't care where anyone stands and what they vote for or who they believe in. Do you really care about that person? As a father, as a husband, as an everything."