Shrugging off the excessive chatter about his intimate moment with Alicia Keys during the Super Bowl halftime show, Usher reveals that he and the Girl on Fire hitmaker’s husband, Swizz Beatz, have been laughing at the public outrage over the event.
During his interview on The Breakfast Club with Charlamagne Tha God and Jess Hilarious, the R&B star stated he and Beatz laughed about the comments over his and Keys’ embrace on the stage. “It was literally about having fun because of a song me and Alicia made many years ago,” he explained. “And we celebrate it because of the legacy of it.”
Usher also stated there is “no disrespect” intended in the performance’s choreography. “It’s crazy how people think,” he continued. “It’s all about how you present things, man, it’s all about love.”
Beatz previously addressed the outrage over Usher and Alicia Keys’ halftime performance by stating on Instagram, “Y’all talking about the wrong damn thing!!! Y’all don’t see that amazing dress covering the entire stadium. Congrats [Usher] and my love [Alicia Keys] that song is a classic. We don’t do negative vibes on this side we make history.”
Usher Also Addressed the 2014 MTV VMAs Performance With Nicki Minaj
Along with discussing the Super Bowl Halftime Show criticism, Usher spoke about his interesting moves with Nicki Minaj during their 2014 MTV VMA performance. The singer was seen bouncing his shoulder and head against Minaj’s buttocks while spanking her.
Explaining the purpose of the dance moves, Usher stated, “Absolutely! That was Jamaican culture! So you gotta go to Jamaica. That was just a moment that was fun. By the way, it was me playing my bass, so I probably would’ve bumped my shoulder or my hand.”
Usher then explained that there was a lot going on at the moment. “I had my bass in my hand and I was playing, so I kind of bopped off her body a little bit. If you go back and look at the video, you’ll understand because I did it there for the first time.”
However, Usher admitted that he may have gone a bit too far with the dance moves. “I think I was reaching a bit when I smacked her, though,” he said. “I shouldn’t have smacked her, I shouldn’t have done that.”
Speaking about supporting fellow Black artists, Jess declared, “See, you gotta lift her up!”
To which, Usher added, “I was lifting!”