Television host Stephen A Smith faced the fury of Rihanna fans after he reacted to Rihanna’s upcoming performance in the Super Bowl LVII half-time show by saying ‘she ain’t Beyonce.’
The 55-year-old was speaking at Sherri Shepherd’s daytime talk show on ESPN when the incident happened. The Rihanna fans were not happy with the comparison and they stormed the TV host on social media to point out its inappropriateness.
On Wednesday, Smith posted a video apologizing to the fans for his comments. He captioned the video, “Apologies to Rihanna for my comments, will be more careful!’ Check it out below.
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“I don’t want to say I am not excited, she is fantastic,” the 55-year-old told Sherri Shephard. “she is a lot of things, a spectacular actress, and congratulations on new mom-hood”, he continued, adding, “but there’s one thing she is not – she ain’t Beyonce.”
Although it seems from the context of the show that Smith was trying to express the fact that he is a Beyonce fan-boy, the fans Rihanna were not having it. They were not only quick to point out that Rihanna was as good as Beyonce, if not better, but also did so in numbers. Smith issued an apology after the backlash.
“I know she’s phenomenal,” Smith is seen saying in the video. “And she’s my sister. Nothing but love for her. But Beyoncé is my sister, too. I got love for both of them.”
“I just think that Beyoncé is the greatest performer out there today. That’s me. That doesn’t mean I’m hating on anybody else.”
Super Bowl LVII is due on February 12, 2023.
