Usher Laughs With Swizz Beatz About 2024 Super Bowl Performance With Alicia Keys, Regrets Slapping Nicki Minaj’s Butt in 2014
Usher says he laughed with Swizz Beatz about his viral performance with Alicia Keys at the 2024 Super Bowl. The singer also discusses the regret he has for smacking Nicki Minaj's butt when they performed together back in 2014.
Usher Talks Super Bowl Halftime Show and More on The Breakfast Club
On Monday (Feb. 19), Usher was a guest on The Breakfast Club, a week after he performed at the 2024 Super Bowl. The Atlanta crooner addressed the elephant in the room: his intimate performance of "My Boo" with Alicia Keys that had the internet going nuts.
"In no way anything that was done there should have been viewed as bad or in any way perverted or anything like that," Usher said around the 20:30-mark of the video below. "It was literally about having fun because of a song that me and Alicia made many years ago. And we celebrate it because of the legacy of it and no disrespect to anybody or anything like that."
When asked if him, Swizz Beatz, who is Alicia's husband, and Alicia laughed about the backlash Usher received, he confirmed they all did. "Absolutely," Usher revealed. "We laughed about it. It's crazy how people pick and handle. It's all about how you present things. But it's all love."
After Usher's performance with Alicia Keys went viral, many people brought up his performance in 2014 at the MTV Video Music Awards with Nicki Minaj where he smacked Nicki's but, appearing to annoy the rapper. He also addressed that incident on The Breakfast Club.
"By the way, that was Jamaican culture, you gotta go to Jamaica," Usher said. "That was just me having fun...I think I was reaching a bit when I smacked her, though. I shouldn't have smacked her."
Read More: 13 Best Hip-Hop Halftime Performances
Usher Faces Backlash for Intimate Performance With Alicia Keys
People had a lot to say about Usher hugging up on Swizz Beatz's wife Alicia Keys during their 2024 Super Bowl halftime show performance. Boosie BadAzz called out Usher and said he owed Swizz an apology. However, Swizz later addressed the backlash saying it was overblown.
Read More: Boosie BadAzz Goes on Rant About Usher Putting His 'Nut Sack' on Alicia Keys During Super Bowl Halftime Show
See Usher addressing backlash for his performance with Alicia Keys at the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show and slapping Nicki Minaj's butt in 2014 below.