Sports broadcasters and media announcers are often tangled in controversies stemming from things they say or formulate opinions on. Skip Bayless does it almost every day, with his most recent one coming about during the Damar Hamlin tragedy. And ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith is no different in this category. Moreover, his target was the music sensation, Rihanna.

The First Take co-host appeared on Sherri Shepherd’s Fox daytime talk show’s Wednesday episode. And the topic of the upcoming Super Bowl LVII halftime show at the State Farm Arena came up. And Smith found himself in troubled waters when he compared Rihanna to a former Super Bowl halftime performer and pop icon, Beyoncé.

What did Stephen A. Smith say about Rihanna?

Normally when Stephen A. comments on the matter of the Super Bowl, it’s usually predicting the outcome or about the ones competing for the Lombardi Trophy. And Smith should have thought twice before venturing into unknown terrains.

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Rihanna is scheduled to be the performer for Super Bowl LVII in Arizona, Phoenix on February 12. However, Stephen A. thought he had seen and heard better. “Ladies and gentlemen, she’s a lot of things. But there’s one thing she’s not. She ain’t Beyoncé,” Smith told to loud groaning and booing from the live audience.

Host Shepherd even had to clarify that Beyoncé had already enjoyed her time and now it was Rihanna’s. Also, Smith has come out with a three-minute apology video to calm the Navy fan base. However, Stephen A spends most of those three minutes praising Beyoncé, and even hailing her as the “greatest performer out there today.”

Rihanna’s Super Bowl announcement was released as a part of the Roc Nation and NFL tie-up. The news came out months before her new release ‘Lift me up’. Also, this was RiRi’s first single since her last album ‘Anti’ in 2016.

Stephen A laid a lot of the RiRi blame on his management

However, Smith got some praise from his fan for making heads turn and Rihanna knows about it by now as well.

Most thought that Stephen A didn’t cross any lines in stating his own opinion. Dallas Cowboys fans are used to Stephen A’s hate. Clearly, the double standard of an apology surprised them. However, in an attempt to make the situation better, Stephen A’s social media team put out some tweets, now deleted, that made things even worse. The veteran broadcaster apologized for his crew’s erroneous actions.

However, fans felt that it had less to do with the particular tweet and more with what he said on the Sherri Shepherd Show.

“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,” Stephen A tweeted to Rihanna.

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