Here's what Stephen A. Smith said about Rihanna and Beyonce before RiRi's Super Bowl halftime show last year.

“I don’t want to say I’m not excited. She’s fantastic. That’s not where I’m going with this," Smith said of Rihanna. "Ladies and gentlemen, she’s a lot of things. She’s spectacular, actually. And congratulations on new mamahood. There’s one thing she’s not: she ain’t Beyoncé," Smith said. "That's not throwing shade on them.  That's appreciating their greatness, but understanding there's levels."

During a chat this week with Connect the Dots, Smith said he got a lot of angry calls from folks in the entertainment industry for that take.

Stephen A Smith said celebs and industry people stopped talking to him after he was on TV debating about Rihanna and Beyonce until Jay-Z gave him a call. pic.twitter.com/ZgLk7sC8WF

— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) March 5, 2024

Finally, JAY-Z called him.  Hov explained that it wasn't proper for him to speak down on Rihanna -- even though he was speaking up for Hov's wife.

"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," Smith reported. "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."

Of course, Rihanna is Roc Nation, so JAY has an asset to protect.

As for the comp itself ... Rihanna has sold more music as a solo artist (117 million SPS, 45th all-time)  than Beyonce (100 million SPS, 61st all-time) despite having a slightly shorter career.

Do we need to put more respect on Rihanna's name?