While many were elated to learn Rihanna‘s long-awaited return to music would come as headliner of the 2023 Super Bowl Halftime Show, there was one critics who made headlines for suggesting he was among those who were a bit less excited: sports journalist Stephen A. Smith.

As reported here, the award-winning sportscaster won a seat on the sh*tlist of Rih’s fan base (affectionately called the #Navy) after taking to ‘Sherri‘ last year to assert the Bajan diva paled in comparison to the performance prowess of Beyonce.

Reflecting on the fallout of those stinging comments, Smith took to the ‘Connect the Dots‘ podcast recently to share how his statement not only landed him in hot water with entertainment industry friends but even with Bey’s husband – the legendary rapper/music mogul JAY-Z.

 

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Chatting it up with ‘Connect the Dots’ hosts, Smith shared a never-before-told story about JAY’s reaction to his disparaging Rihanna remarks.

“I love Rihanna. I bought her album, she gets my money. Mad love for her, wish her nothing but the best … But you do know there’s only one Beyonce,” Smith said – seemingly doubling down on his original stance. “A month later, Hov [JAY-Z] and I were on the phone. Hov was like, ‘My dawg, you family, that’s family. That’s too close to say that’…In other words, it’s a business, it’s a part of it, you don’t know how she’ll receive it, etc. etc. etc. That’s all he had to say. I appreciated that.”

The story comes over a year after Stephen issued an apology for ruffling the feathers of Rih’s fans for the comparison.

Revisit that video below.

 

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