Shannon Sharpe challenges Chad Ochocinco after tense podcast moment

Shannon Sharpe is challenging Chad Ochocinco to take their podcast more seriously.

The two co-host the “Nightcap” program under the umbrella of Sharpe’s Shay Shay Media and Colin Cowherd’s Volume, and on a recent show, Sharpe was perturbed with the former Bengals wideout for being late to taping.

Ochocinco was traveling and had a surreal snafu in which the fan who picked him up from the airport locked his keys in the car when he stepped out to embrace Ochocinco.

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Sharpe wondered on the show if Ochocinco puts the fate of his appearances on ESPN and “Inside the NFL” in the hands of “random people” whom he connects with on social media.

Ochocinco responded that, yes, he has done so for 15 years as he finds car services to be “mean and bougie.”

Ochocinco explained that talking to people he can relate to in the car makes him “comfortable,” and Sharpe asked him if he wants to be “comfortable or professional.”

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“Here’s the thing, Ocho: You say you want to be professional, you want to do ESPN and all these professional things, but you want to take a bootleg route,” Sharpe said.

Ochocinco said he wants to do those things while remaining his “authentic self.”

Later, Sharpe explained where he was coming from.

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“I’m gonna push, I’m gonna pull, I’m gonna drag Ocho to a level he didn’t think he could get to,” Sharpe said.

Sharpe said commenters told him he was being too hard on Ochocinco as it’s “just a little internet show.”

Sharpe does not see his media career as just being a show host — he aspires to be a mogul.

“For you, that’s all you see it as,” Sharpe said. “But that’s not the vision that I shared with Ocho when we sat down.”

Sharpe said matter-of-factly that the studio and several producers count on Ochocinco to be on time, and take the show as seriously as he takes his appearances on traditional TV.

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