As Leslie Jones continues her guest hosting stint on “The Daily Show” this week, she took time on Thursday night to fire back at Stephen A. Smith, after he said he isn’t as excited about the Super Bowl Halftime show as he could be, because Rihanna “ain’t Beyoncé.”
While appearing on Sherri Shepherd’s talk show this week, the ESPN host was asked point blank if he was excited to see Rihanna perform at this year’s Super Bowl halftime show. Obviously, fans around the world are, as they continue to wait for Rihanna’s next album. But Smith admitted that his excitement is tempered for one main reason.
“I don’t want to say I’m not excited, she’s fantastic,” Smith said. “There’s one thing she’s not. She ain’t Beyoncé.”
Smith’s comments drew vocal unrest from Sherri Shepherd’s in-studio crowd, and he immediately started facing backlash online from fans of Rihanna — Leslie Jones included.
“Dude, no!” Jones yelled. “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 Smith did apologize, which Jones noted was “good news.” But for the guest host, the bad news was the apology itself. On Wednesday, Smith posted a video apology, apparently filmed in the back of a dimly lit van or bus, calling Rihanna a “superstar” and “sensational.”
To close out the video, Smith said “Good luck sweetie, lookin’ forward to seeing you perform.” And both the “Daily Show” audience and Leslie Jones were less than impressed.
“Oh, how dare you call Rihanna ‘sweetie,’” Jones fired back. “You calling her sweetie like you know her. She don’t know you. But you know who she does know? Beyoncé! And neither one of these ladies needs your opinion, sweetie.”
You can watch the full segment from “The Daily Show” in the video above.
