That distinctively sexy and raspy voice has been silenced on the “Rickey Smiley Morning Show” permanently, the media reports.
Ebony Steele, the lovable lithe co-host beside Rickey Smiley Show for the past seven years, has been fired. She is going to reportedly be replaced by former model and current actress Claudia Jordan, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Fans of Steele have noticed that she had been conspicuously absent from the show as well as “Dish Nation” without any explanation. Steele, whose irresistible estrogen energy provided balance to the testosterone-heavy morning show, was not provided a reason why she was abruptly axed from the show.
Steele was unavailable for comment publicly, but maintains she has no ill will toward her employers.
The timing of the unpopular move is dubious as well as extremely curious: the “Rickey Smiley Show” is syndicated in 50 markets nationwide and is the No. 1 urban-based show in the city of Atlanta, outperforming its rivals, including the “Ryan Cameron Morning Show,” the “Tom Joyner Morning Show” and the “Steve Harvey Morning Show” in the prime viewing demo advertisers crave.
Furthermore, it is the No. 2 show in the coveted 18-34 demographic in Atlanta, trailing only another Atlanta-based syndicated show, Q100′s Bert Show.
You may recall Jordan as one of the principle players in the last two seasons of Donald Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice” where she battled wits with the likes of Nene Leakes and Star Jones.