Stephen A. Smith Says Jay-Z Hit Him Up After His Viral Comments Comparing Rihanna And Beyoncé

Stephen A. Smith says Jay-Z gave him a call after he compared Beyoncé and Rihanna.

While discussing Rihanna's Super Bowl Halftime performance, Smith expressed that he feels like Rihanna is not as big of an artist as  Beyoncé. “There’s one thing she’s not, she ain’t Beyonce. The only reason I brought up Beyonce is because Beyonce recently performed at the Super Bowl.”

 “I just got out of First Take and I saw some headline that’s circulating all over the place about my quote that Rihanna ain’t Beyonce. See, I’m gonna own it. I know what y’all tryna do but I’m gon’ own it because I get paid to speak for a living so I need to be more careful.”

Now following his comments- Smith reflected on the aftermath of sharing his thoughts. “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 began.

"A month later, Hov and I were on the phone. 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.’ Done! 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.”