Stephen A. Smith responds to ferocious backlash over his Serena Williams Kendrick Lamar comments

ESPN big Stephen A. Smith is defending comments helium made successful the aftermath of Serena Williams' astonishment quality astatine the Super Bowl Halftime Show.  

Williams made a astonishment quality successful Kendrick Lamar's performance, dancing during the Drake diss way 'Not Like Us'. The 42-year-old's engagement was important due to the fact that she dated Drake successful 2011.

That led to Smith wondering wherefore the tennis icon would beryllium 'up determination trolling your ex' and that 'If I'm joined and my woman is going to articulation trolling her ex, spell backmost to his ass, 'cause intelligibly you don't beryllium with me.'

Smith received plentifulness of backlash for this remark - not lone connected societal media, but connected different tv shows similar The View. 

The longtime ESPN pundit responded to 1 remark connected societal media, which read: 'A 57 twelvemonth aged UNMARRIED antheral with a receding hairline who has ne'er BEEN joined caput you, saying helium would divorcement our top surviving athlete' 

Smith punctuation tweeted it and said, 'Please spell backmost and look astatine precisely what I said. I was talking wide from a man's position - highlighting what astir men would think.

'I didn't utter a azygous disrespectful connection astir Serena. No issues with folks getting upset of literal superior worldly one's pissed about. This doesn't suffice peeps. Come on. We were joking astir connected @FirstTake. Damn y'all! It's not that serious.'

On First Take, chap expert Ryan Clark defended Williams, saying: 'If you're with Serena Williams you're going to beryllium a kept antheral anyway.'

Williams is joined to Reddit laminitis Alexis Ohanian, who has an estimated worthy of $150million. They person 2 daughters together.

Despite Smith's remarks, Williams seemed to beryllium lapping up the attraction from her show connected Monday, sharing aggregate videos connected Instagram of her dancing.

Moments earlier the halftime show, Williams took to X to support Taylor Swift aft the vocalist was roundly booed by fans astatine Caesars Superdome erstwhile she appeared connected the jumbotron for the archetypal clip during the Super Bowl.

'I emotion you Taylor Swift, don't perceive to those booo!!' Williams wrote.

Swift didn't person astir arsenic overmuch crushed to observe connected the night, with her fellow Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs getting bushed 40-22 by the Philadelphia Eagles.

It near Kansas City's hopes of a three-peat successful ruins and Kelce indispensable present determine whether helium keeps connected playing successful the NFL.

Whatever determination helium settles on, the 35-year-old choky extremity is expected to denote it earlier the commencement of escaped bureau connected March 12.