Stephen A. Smith Says Jay-Z Checked Him Over Rihanna vs Beyoncé Remarks [Video]

Stephen A. Smith says he received a phone call from Jay-Z after his comments comparing Rihanna to Beyoncé. 

The adored sports talk show host joined Connect The Dots podcast recently, where he detailed his conversation with the Roc Nation founder. Last year, when Rihanna was announced as the 2023 Super Bowl LVII Halftime performer, Smith joined the Sherri Show, where he compared Riri to Bey, who has also performed during the Super Bowl. This reportedly didn’t sit well with folks in the industry. 

“I love Rihanna. I bought her album; she got my money. Mad love for her, wish her nothing but the best … But you do know there’s only one Beyoncé,” Smith said as he reminisced on his initial comments about Riri. 

Smith said this led to several Hollywood stars distancing themselves from him. To this day, some still do not speak to him. Well, Jay-Z decided to intervene about a month after Smith made the comments and possibly burned a few bridges. As Hov explained, remarks such as Smith’s could cause friction. 

“Hov was like, ‘My dawg, you family, that’s family. That’s too close to say that.’ I said, ‘I didn’t know.’ He said, ‘I know,'” Smith recounted. “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.”

Neither Rihanna nor Beyoncé has commented on Smith’s words publicly, though Jay may have prevented further damage from being done.