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Jews ‘own everything,’ sports commentators Shannon Sharpe and Chad Ochocinco claim
(JTA) — The co-hosts of a popular sports podcast declared on a recent episode that Jews “own everything” and are “the most powerful community in the world.”
Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, both former National Football League stars, directed the comments at a popular Jewish livestreamer.
“This is the most powerful community in the world,” Sharpe said on a Dec. 1 episode of his podcast “Night Cap.” When Ochocinco asked which community Sharpe was referring to, he clarified by describing the Israeli flag: “There’s another country that has a white and blue flag with a star on it.”
In response, Ochocinco said, “Oh, they own every damn thing,” to which Sharpe agreed: “Exactly.”
“They own everything. You hear me? Boy, if you were to peel back the layers,” Ochocinco continued.
A former tight end, Sharpe had a long career in sports broadcasting following his NFL retirement, with another one of his podcasts, “Club Shay Shay,” winning an NAACP Image Award earlier this year. The show frequently goes viral: Sharpe’s interview with comedian Katt Williams last year has racked up nearly 100 million views and inspired a “Saturday Night Live” sketch.
ESPN abruptly cut ties with Sharpe this summer following a sexual assault investigation, but he continues to be a popular Internet personality. His podcasts are defined by a loose, freeform approach that uses sports as a jumping-off point for a range of other topics.
The two men were taking on Jewish video-gaming livestreamer Adin Ross, himself a polarizing personality who hosted Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign. Ross has interviewed and/or maintained friendly relationships with openly antisemitic figures including Nick Fuentes, Andrew Tate and fellow livestreamer Sneako. On a recent livestream of his own, Ross had admitted that he sings the N-word when singing along to rap music.
This remark offended Sharpe and Ochocinco, who used their show to claim that public figures refuse to make derogatory comments about Jews in the same way they might use the N-word.
“It’s funny how they pick and choose,” Sharpe said. “I’m old enough to remember when Jesse Jackson was running for president, and he said something, he called New York, he called it a derogatory term, had to apologize. Michael Jackson used the term once upon a time, had to apologize.”
In 1984, Jesse Jackson apologized on the campaign trail after referring to New York as “Hymietown.” In 1995, Michael Jackson apologized after releasing a single containing the line, “Jew me, sue me, everybody do me/ Kick me, kike me, don’t you black or white me.” After initially agreeing to change the lyrics he later released a music video of the song with the original lyrics, over Jewish groups’ objections.
It was initially unclear if Sharpe and Ochocinco were aware that Ross is Jewish, though Sharpe later acknowledged this after reading messages in his chat. The pair did take time to praise “Inglorious Basterds,” the Quentin Tarantino movie about Jewish World War II soldiers taking revenge on Hitler, as a “great movie.”
On his own stream, Ross briefly took time out from playing video games to laugh off the remarks.
“I’m a fan of you, Shannon. I like you. I think you’re a hell of a guy,” he said, adding, “Nick Fuentes got something in the air, bro” — referring to the openly antisemitic livestreamer’s recent political ascendancy.
Ross disputed Sharpe’s claim that Jews aren’t subject to antisemitic terms on a regular basis, listing all the derogatory names his own followers routinely call him. As he talked, he repeatedly laughed at his friend Sneako posting antisemitic content in the chat.
“I get called a kike every day,” Ross said. “Nobody’s safe out here.” He concluded by inviting Sharpe and Ochocinco to work with him.
“I want to do a stream with these two guys, bro,” he said. “It’d be a fun time.”
The post Jews ‘own everything,’ sports commentators Shannon Sharpe and Chad Ochocinco claim appeared first on The Forward.
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Trump Says Gas Prices May Remain High Through November Midterm Election
U.S. President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters while Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio look on, as they attend a meeting with oil industry executives, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 9, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the price of oil and gasoline may remain high through November’s midterm elections, a rare acknowledgement of the potential political fallout from his decision to attack Iran six weeks ago.
“It could be, or the same, or maybe a little bit higher, but it should be around the same,” Trump, who is in Miami for the weekend, told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures With Maria Bartiromo” when asked whether the cost of oil and gas would be lower by the fall.
The average price for regular gas at US service stations has exceeded $4 per gallon for most of April, according to data from GasBuddy. Trump’s comments on Sunday came after weeks of asserting that the spike in prices is a short-term phenomenon, though his top advisers are cognizant of the war’s economic impacts, officials have said.
Earlier on Sunday, Trump announced on social media that the US Navy would blockade the Strait of Hormuz and intercept any ship that paid a crossing fee to Iran, after marathon talks between the US and Iran in Pakistan over the weekend did not yield a peace deal.
“No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Any US blockade is likely to add more uncertainty to the eventual resolution of the conflict, which is currently subject to a tenuous two-week ceasefire. The new tactic is in response to Iran’s own closure of the strait’s critical shipping lanes, which has caused global oil prices to skyrocket about 50%.
UNPOPULAR WAR HITS TRUMP’S APPROVAL
The war began on February 28, when the US launched a joint bombing campaign with Israel against Iran. The scope quickly expanded as Iran and its allies attacked nearby countries, while Israel targeted Hezbollah with massive strikes in Lebanon.
The war has buffeted global financial markets and caused thousands of civilian deaths, mostly in Iran and Lebanon.
Trump’s political standing at home has suffered, with polls showing the war is unpopular among most Americans, who are frustrated by rising gasoline prices.
The president’s approval rating has hit the lowest levels of his second term in office, raising concern among Republicans that his party is poised to lose control of Congress in the midterm elections. A Democratic majority in either chamber could launch investigations into the Trump administration while blocking much of his legislative agenda.
US Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, questioned the strategy behind Trump’s planned blockade.
“I don’t understand how blockading the strait is going to somehow push the Iranians into opening it,” he told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
In a separate appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Warner said the blockade would not undermine Iranian control of the waterway.
“The Iranians have hundreds of speedboats where they can still mine the strait or put bombs against tankers in closing the strait,” he said. “How is that going to ever bring down gas prices?”
Although Trump has repeatedly said that the war would be over soon, Republican US Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin told ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday that achieving US aims in Iran “could take a long time.”
“It’s going to be a long-term project,” said Johnson, who was not asked about Trump’s proposed blockade. “I never thought this would be easy.”
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Israel’s Ben-Gvir Visits Flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound
Israeli politician Itamar Ben-Gvir walks inside the Knesset, in Jerusalem, Oct. 13, 2025. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Pool via REUTERS
Israel’s far-right police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem on Sunday, saying he was seeking greater access for Jewish worshipers and drawing condemnation from Jordan and the Palestinians.
The compound in Jerusalem’s walled Old City is one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East. Known to Jews as Temple Mount, it is the most sacred site in Judaism and is Islam’s third-holiest site.
Under a delicate, decades-old arrangement with Muslim authorities, it is administered by a Jordanian religious foundation and Jews can visit but may not pray there.
Suggestions that Israel would alter the rules have sparked outrage among Muslims and ignited violence in the past.
“Today, I feel like the owner here,” National Security Minister Ben-Gvir said in a video filmed at the site and distributed by his office. “There is still more to do, more to improve. I keep pushing the Prime Minister (Benjamin Netanyahu) to do more and more — we must keep rising higher and higher.”
A statement from the Jordanian foreign ministry said it considered Ben-Gvir’s visit to be a violation of the status quo agreement at the site and “a desecration of its sanctity, a condemnable escalation and an unacceptable provocation.”
The office of Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, said such actions could further destabilize the region.
Ben-Gvir’s spokesman said the minister was seeking greater access and prayer permits for Jewish visitors. He also said that Ben-Gvir had prayed at the site.
There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu’s office. Previous such visits and statements by Ben-Gvir have prompted Netanyahu announcements saying that there is no change in Israel’s policy of keeping the status quo.
Muslim, Christian and Jewish sites, including Al-Aqsa had been largely closed to the public during the Iran war. There was no immediate sign of unrest on Sunday after Ben-Gvir’s visit.
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Netanyahu Visits Troops Fighting Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem, Aug. 10, 2025. Photo: ABIR SULTAN/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Israeli forces operating in southern Lebanon on Sunday as military operations against Hezbollah-linked targets continue.
Netanyahu toured forward positions alongside Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, Eyal Zamir, and Northern Command Commander Rafi Milo, meeting troops and receiving operational briefings from commanders on the ground.
Speaking to soldiers, Netanyahu praised their performance and said operations in the Lebanese security zone were ongoing.
“The war continues, including within the security zone in Lebanon,” he said, adding that Israeli forces were working to prevent infiltration attempts and neutralize threats such as anti-tank fire and missiles.
He described the northern campaign as part of a broader regional struggle involving Iran and its allies, saying Israel’s adversaries were now “fighting for their survival” following sustained Israeli military pressure.