Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM/Emma McIntyre/Getty Imagesfor Rihanna's Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 4 presented by Prime Video
<p><a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/stephen-a-smith-shares-his-take-on-rihanna-performing-at-the-upcoming-super-bowl-she-aint-beyonce/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stephen A. Smith</a> is owning up to his remarks and issuing an apology to <a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/watch-rihanna-addresses-fans-awaiting-her-return-to-the-stage-with-dazzling-super-bowl-lvii-halftime-teaser/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rihanna</a> regarding his comments about her upcoming Super Bowl Halftime performance.</p>
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">Stephen A. Smith Took To Social Media After Reportedly Receiving Backlash From Rihanna Fans</h3>
<p>Smith took to his social media accounts Wednesday evening to issue a video apology to Rihanna for his comments. On both Twitter and Instagram, Smith captioned his video with a few words.</p>
<blockquote><p>Apologies to Rihanna for my words, gotta be more careful!</p></blockquote>
<p>In the clip, Smith explained that he is going to &#8220;own&#8221; his words, referring to his comment that Rihanna &#8220;ain&#8217;t <a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/six-years-later-rita-ora-is-still-denying-accusations-of-being-beyonces-becky-with-the-good-hair/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Beyoncé</a>.&#8221; He added that he &#8220;needs to be more careful&#8221; with his words as well.</p>
<blockquote><p>I want Rihanna to know, you&#8217;re a superstar. You&#8217;re sensational. You&#8217;re spectacular. You&#8217;re no joke. And you&#8217;re a worthy person to be doing the Super Bowl halftime show.</p></blockquote>
<p>Smith went on to explain that he is indeed a Beyoncé and believes that she is &#8220;not only a phenomenal performer but <em>the </em>phenomenal performer.&#8221; He added that Beyoncé performed not only by herself at previous Super Bowls, but also alongside Bruno Mars and Coldplay. And he believes those two performances were the &#8220;greatest shows&#8221; he&#8217;s &#8220;ever seen.&#8221;</p>
<p>Smith believes that &#8220;<em>anybody</em> has to measure up to that&#8221; — including <a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/coi-leray-makes-it-clear-that-she-has-no-issues-with-eminem-despite-his-long-standing-feud-with-benzino/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eminem</a>, <a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/happy-birthday-to-the-king-of-pop-michael-jackson-would-have-been-64-today-here-are-five-of-his-most-iconic-moments/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michael Jackson</a>, and other performers.</p>
<blockquote><p>I meant it as no disrespect to Rihanna, I know she&#8217;s phenomenal. And she&#8217;s my sister — nothing but love for her. But Beyonce is my sister too, I got love for both of them. I just think Beyoncé is the greatest performer out there today — that&#8217;s me! That doesn&#8217;t mean I&#8217;m hating on anybody else. That doesn&#8217;t mean I&#8217;m wishing for Rihanna to fail. I don&#8217;t believe she&#8217;s going to fail. She&#8217;s going to be great! I&#8217;m just saying that I&#8217;m a Beyoncé fan &#8211; that&#8217;s all.</p></blockquote>
<p>Smith ended the video by reiterating that he&#8217;s sending an apology and that in the future he&#8217;ll &#8220;be more careful.&#8221;</p>
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">Stephen A. Smith Also Issued An Apology To Rihanna For A Tweet Posted By His Account</h3>
<p>Soon after posting his video apology, Smith took to Twitter to address a &#8220;horrific mistake.&#8221; He explained that &#8220;an overzealous member&#8221; of his management team also posted a tweet with comments about Rihanna that he &#8220;would NEVER say.&#8221;</p>
<p>He, again, apologized to the &#8220;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXmF4GbA86E" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SOS</a>&#8221; singer.</p>
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<p>As <a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/stephen-a-smith-shares-his-take-on-rihanna-performing-at-the-upcoming-super-bowl-she-aint-beyonce/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Shade Room</a> previously reported, Smith was a guest on <em>SHERRI</em> early Wednesday. And was asked about his feelings ahead of Rihanna&#8217;s upcoming Super Bowl halftime performance. Smith proceeded to explain that the singer isn&#8217;t Beyoncé.</p>
<blockquote><p>I don’t want to say that 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 new momma-hood… There’s one thing she’s not! She ain’t Beyoncé&#8230; Rihanna’s music is fantastic. She’s great. She’s a sister. I love her dearly, I listen to her music, I’m gonna support her ’til the cows come home. I’m just telling you, for me, there’s Beyoncé and there’s everybody else. Just like there’s <strong>Michael Jackson</strong> and there’s everybody else.</p></blockquote>
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<p>Roommates, what are your thoughts about this ordeal?</p>
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