Stephen A. Smith Apologizes To 'Sensational Superstar’ Rihanna After Saying ‘She Ain’t Beyoncé' In Response To Her Super Bowl Halftime Performance

Stephen A. Smith offers up an apology to Rihanna over comments he made about her “not being Beyoncé” in response to her upcoming Super Bowl LVII halftime performance. He also doubles down on his comments about Bey. Here’s why he’s currently trending… Controversial sports commentator Stephen A. Smith is offering up an apology to Rihanna over comments he made on the “Sherri” show about her upcoming Super Bowl LVII halftime performance. When asked his thoughts about RiRi’s upcoming performance, the outspoken sports announcer said her set wouldn't compare to Beyoncé’s previous performances. Now, he’s apologizing. “I’m gonna own it,” he said in a video posted to his Twitter account after getting dragged by Rihanna fans. “I know what y’all trying to do, but I’m gonna own it because I get paid to speak for a living, so I need to be more careful.” He continued, “I want Rihanna to know, you’re a superstar, you’re sensational, you’re spectacular, you’re no joke and you are a worthy person to be doing the Super Bowl halftime show. “I’m a Beyoncé fan. I think that Beyoncé is not only a phenomenal performer, but the phenomenal performer. The only reason any kind of comparison came into play is because Beyoncé performed at halftime at the Super Bowl, not just by herself [in 2013], but one separate performance with Bruno Mars and Coldplay [in 2016] — and I thought those were two of the greatest shows that I’ve ever seen.” The 55-year-old TV host doubled down on his Beyoncé fandom and said he “meant it as no disrespect to Rihanna.” “I got love for the both of them,” he said. “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 and that doesn’t mean I’m damn well wishing for Rihanna to fail. I think she’s going to be great.” “Rihanna, go do your thing. I apologize for creating whatever brouhaha comes of this. I gotta be more careful, where people twist it and turn it into something it ain’t. My bad on that," he concluded. Watch the clip below:   Apologies to Rihanna for my words, gotta be more careful! pic.twitter.com/RLcsaQAJ4v — Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) January 18, 2023   He also blamed his social media management team for a tweet that was posted about Rihanna on his account: "Horrific mistake. Something that was suppose to be a fun moment on the Sherri Shepard show has gotten out of hand. An overzealous member on my MGMT team — which has access to my account — posted something I would NEVER say about @rihanna , her fans or any other artist. The post…Has been removed. My social management team will never make a mistake like this again. My apologies again to @Rihanna. And just to be clear, I’m a huge fan. Sherri and I were just having fun. That is all." During his appearance on the daytime talk show, Stephen compared Rihanna’s upcoming performance to that of Queen Bey’s, causing the NAVY to drag him online. “I don’t want to say I’m not excited, she’s fantastic, that’s not where I’m going with this. Ladies and gentlemen, she’s a lot of things, she’s spectacular actually — and congratulations on the new mama hood — there’s one thing she’s not, she ain’t Beyoncé,” he said on the show. Watch the clip below: Meanwhile… The I C N I C @rihanna and @asvpxrocky are in the building! #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/UUgzfVaIkg — Golden Globe Awards (@goldenglobes) January 11, 2023 Rihanna and her boyfriend A$AP Rocky are loving parenthood. As you know, the high-profile couple welcomed a son eight months ago. ”Rihanna loves being a mom,” a source told PEOPLE. “She is obsessed with her baby boy,” shared the insider. Hello Baby Fenty And welcome to TikTok @Rihanna! pic.twitter.com/0poAKJyLou — Ultimate Rihanna (@URihannaFansite) December 17, 2022 The source added Rocky is "very involved as well and a great dad." Aww. As for that firearm assault case, it's reported Rocky pleaded not guilty to shooting former friend A$AP Relli in Los Angeles in 2021. A few months ago, he agreed to a new "months-long delay" on proceedings. BONUS:           View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by badgalriri (@badgalriri)     Photos: Euguene Powers/Fred Duval/Shutterstock