Cam Newton finds himself back in the headlines for a bizarre confession about his trips to strip clubs.
In a resurfaced clip from the “Funky Friday” podcast, the former NFL MVP claimed that he never visited strip clubs because of the women. This admission did not sit well with analyst and commentator Jason Whitlock.
Jason Whitlock Reacts to Cam Newton’s Real Reason for Going to Strip Clubs
Newton explained that he went to strip clubs to compete with other men and see who could spend the most money.
“I never went to a strip club for women. I always went to strip clubs for guys,” Newton said back in Dec. 2024. “I’m a competitor. I wasn’t gonna spend no money if I didn’t see nobody else spending no money.
“As soon as I see somebody thinking that they’ve got money… ‘Okay, you spending five? I’mma spend six. If you gonna spend 10, I’mma spend 15.’ We’re gonna have a rain off.”
Newton treated the experience like another competition.
“That’s my whole thing, I don’t go to strip clubs for chicks even though I want decoration. I was a competitor and still am a competitor… That 15 you making, I’mma spend my 15 and I’mma make it back easy,” he said.
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After the resurfaced clip went viral on X, it caught the attention of Whitlock, who had a pretty blunt reaction.
“Unbelievably sad,” Whitlock wrote.
Unbelievably sad. https://t.co/Jd4Aj7Mw4I
— Jason Whitlock (@jasonwhitlock) July 31, 2026
Newton had an 11-year NFL career, most of which he spent with the Carolina Panthers. He was a three-time Pro Bowler who totaled 32,382 passing yards, 194 passing touchdowns, and 123 interceptions, while also rushing for 5,628 yards and 75 scores on the ground.
Recently, ESPN laid off Newton as a result of the network’s major shake-up involving several high-profile personalities. Newton, who usually appeared alongside Stephen A. Smith on “First Take” was among several departures.
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The 37-year-old joined ESPN in October 2024 and had signed a multi-year extension last August that expanded his role, so the news was a bit of a surprise.
Newton wasn’t the only big name affected. ESPN also moved on from NFL analyst Ryan Clark, NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero, and longtime baseball broadcaster Karl Ravech among others. ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro explained that the layoffs were a result of the company’s recent acquisition of NFL Network.
“Over the past several months, we’ve made significant progress integrating the NFL assets that we acquired into ESPN…” Pitaro wrote in an internal memo. “As a result, we had to make some difficult decisions about job impacts that we will be communicating today.
“While most of the job impacts are tied to the acquisition, we will also notify colleagues in other parts of the company today that their positions have been impacted.”
While Newton is no longer at ESPN, he still has his own podcast, “4th & 1,” which he co-hosts with Omari “Peggy” Collins.
