A new era of “First Take” has officially begun.
Shae Cornette made her anticipated debut Monday as the show’s new host, weeks after ESPN announced she would succeed Molly Qerim, who abruptly left the network in September.
Stephen A. Smith, who was clad in a cowboy hat while smoking a cigar, introduced Cornette after his over-the-top intro that was centered around throwing shade at America’s team.
“Can y’all give a round of applause to our new host” Smith said of the former “SportsCenter” anchor.
There wasn’t a grand entrance or a special segment dedicated to Cornette, whose “First Take” debut began at the desk in Arlington, as the show is on location for the Cowboys-Cardinals game on “Monday Night Football.”
Cornette, 39, who confidently put her own flair on the hosting gig, made sure to have her opinion heard and played “devil’s advocate” during some of debates, which included Smith and NFL analysts Dan Orlovsky, Cam Newton and Michael Irvin.
The mother of two looked stunning in a sleeveless brown top and she had her blonde hair styled down and wavy.
Cornette, who joined ESPN in 2020, served as a fill-in host for Qerim over the last several years.
She beat out fellow ESPN talent Amina Smith, MJ Acosta-Ruiz, Courtney Cronin and others in a weeks-long tryout that included a rotating host seat alongside Stephen A. Smith, the show’s star and executive producer.
In an interview with The Post last week, Cornette discussed taking over the coveted role and her plans to have her voice heard on one of ESPN’s top shows.
“I embrace the debate. I’m here for it,” she said, adding that she wants to see more hockey coverage and Midwest teams on the show.
“I’m going to get a word in edgewise and I think they know that.”
Cornette, who applauded Qerim for making the job look “effortless” across a decade in the host seat, said they only met several times.
“Listen, she was on that show for 10 years, and it is hard to talk about a lot of different topics with a lot of different personalities for ten years straight,” Cornette said. “And I know that that takes someone with not only a lot of stamina and knowledge, but also someone that has a lot of grace that I know that she’s had. And everyone I know that knows her has told me that she has.
“There’s a reason this was a coveted job, and I think it’s because she made it look so effortless. I applaud her for that. I don’t love the term ‘replace’ … This is kind of like a new generation of ‘First Take.’ I’m just going to call it [that]. But that’s not because of anything with her. It’s just something for me. And I hope that her and I cross paths soon.”
In an interview with The Athletic, Burke Magnus, ESPN’s president of content, explained that prior to Qerim announcing her departure from the Worldwide Leader in September, both sides had already determined that she would be taken off of “First Take” when her contract expired at the end of 2025.
Magnus said they were in renewal conversations with Qerim, who he felt wanted to “explore other things” — and in the end, “we just weren’t totally aligned.”
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