Stephen A. Smith is speaking out and apologizing after he made comments about Rihanna‘s upcoming performance at the Super Bowl.

During an appearance on Sherri, the ESPN commentator was asked by host Sherri Shepherd about the upcoming halftime performance and if he was excited by Rihanna being the headliner.

“I don’t want to say I’m not excited, she’s fantastic, that’s not where I’m going with this,” he started out, before adding, “Ladies and gentlemen, she’s a lot of things, she’s spectacular actually — and congratulations on the new mama hood — there’s one thing she’s not, she ain’t Beyoncé.”

His comments have obviously caught heat with Rihanna‘s fans, and they proceeded to call him out about them on social media.

Find out how Stephen reacted to the comments and what he said next inside…

The social media reaction wasn’t the only thing Stephen faced. He also got boos from the audience, and even Sherri, too.

“The only reason I brought up Beyoncé is because Beyoncé recently performed at the Super Bowl,” he stated. ”

Sherri told him that “Beyoncé performed, but she’s had her time. Now there’s Rihanna, Rihanna’s coming back, she’s got that extra umph of motherhood, I like Rihanna.”

Stephen then tried to clarify his words and opinion, saying that while he loves a lot of women in television, “they ain’t Sherri. That’s not throwing shade on them.”

Following his appearance, more social media comments came in and prompted Stephen to issue an apology over what he said.

“I’m gonna own it. I know what y’all trying to do, but I’m gonna own it because I get paid to speak for a living, so I need to be more careful,” he shared in a video apology on Twitter. “I want Rihanna to know, you’re a superstar, you’re sensational, you’re spectacular, you’re no joke and you are a worthy person to be doing the Super Bowl halftime show.”

Rihanna recently teased her Super Bowl performance in a new trailer. Watch it here!