On Monday, Stephen A. Smith probably thought the lowest point in his career was having to publicly clarify that he has never had his ass eaten after insinuating as much while appearing on Jake Paul’s sports show (though most people would have stopped short of “appearing on Jake Paul’s sports show”). But that was before the fiery ESPN host messed with the Rihanna Navy — with Leslie Jones as their leader.
Jones guest-hosted Thursday’s episode of The Daily Show, where she called out Smith for his rather unenthusiastic response to the news that Rihanna will play this year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show. While appearing as a guest on Sherri, host Sherri Shepherd asked Smith whether he was excited that Riri would be performing at this year’s Super Bowl. His response was… disappointing.
“I don’t want to say I’m not excited. She’s fantastic,” Smith explained… then unfortunately added: “There’s one thing she’s not: She ain’t Beyoncé.”
Jones was NOT having it:
DUDE! NO! Why would you do this to yourself? You know what, Stephen A. Smith? You need to act like your hairline and back the f*** off!
Now, the good news is that he did apologize. The bad news is his apology.
Smith posted a video, which seemed to be shot in the back of an empty party bus, where he addressed Rihanna directly to let her know that she’s a “superstar” and “sensational.” Then came his sign-off: “Good luck, sweetie. Looking forward to see you perform.”
That’s when Jones lost it again: “Oh how DARE you call Rihanna ‘sweetie’! You calling her ‘sweetie’ like you know her. She don’t know you. But you know who she does know? Beyoncé!”
You can watch the full clip above.
