When asked about his thoughts on Rihanna being chosen for the show, Stephen Smith gave the following statement:
“I don’t want to say I’m not excited,” he said. “She’s fantastic. That’s not where I’m going with this. She’s a lot of things. She’s spectacular. And congratulations on new mama hood. There’s one thing she’s not: She ain’t Beyoncé.”
Here Smith pays homage to Beyonce’s 2013 performance at XLVII, where the pop icon took the stage with Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams from Destiny’s Child. Billboard reports that Beyonce’s 2013 performance drew in over 104 million viewers for the halftime show alone. The performance has become one of Beyoncé’s most well-known performances ever, which is saying a lot because it’s Beyonce. Three years after her first performance, Beyonce would take the stage again for Super Bowl 50 in 2016, this time joining Bruno Mars and Coldplay onstage.
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…
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) January 18, 2023
“I meant it as no disrespect to Rihanna,” Smith told FOX News. “I know she’s phenomenal and she’s my sister. Nothing but love for her, but Beyonce is my sister, too. I got love for both of them.”
