Why Rihanna Agreed to Perform at the Super Bowl Halftime Show Despite Rejecting the NFL in 2019
Rihanna made headlines in 2019 when she rejected the NFL’s invitation to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show to show solidarity with quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Four years later, the Barbadian singer performed at the 2023 Super Bowl LVII halftime show, with many wondering what changed since then. In a recent interview, Rihanna answered why she had a change of heart.
Rihanna turned down the Super Bowl halftime show in 2019
In 2016, San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial inequality in the United States. After leaving the 49ers in 2017, the QB has been out of the NFL and claims he was blackballed by the organization.
Many musicians and celebrities showed solidarity with the QB, including Rihanna. In a 2019 Vogue interview, Rihanna revealed that she turned down an invitation to perform at the halftime show to protest Kaepernick’s treatment by the NFL.
“I couldn’t dare do that. For what? Who gains from that? Not my people. I just couldn’t be a sellout,” Rihanna shared. “I couldn’t be an enabler. There’s things within that organization that I do not agree with at all, and I was not about to go and be of service to them in any way.”
Rihanna shares why she agreed to perform in 2023
In a 2023 interview with Vogue, Rihanna was asked why her mindset was different when she accepted the job for the 2023 Super Bowl halftime show. The “Love on the Brain” singer says she believes there has been progress within the organization since she declined.
“There’s still a lot of mending to be done in my eyes,” she says. “but it’s powerful to break those doors, and have representation at such a high, high level and a consistent level.”
She was also encouraged by the last two Super Bowl halftime shows featuring hip-hop & R&B artists. The Weeknd performed in 2021, while 2022 featured a stacked roster with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, and Eminem.
“Representing the urban community, globally. It is powerful,” Rihanna shares. “It sends a really strong message.”
The singer also wanted to prove she could do anything as a mother
In 2022, Rihanna gave birth to her first child with rapper A$ap Rocky. The singer says this complicated her decision on the Super Bowl, but she wanted to prove that “nothing was impossible.” She wanted to take on the challenge of performing at America’s biggest event after recently giving birth.
“It’s this knowing that you can do anything, even things that seem the craziest, like, ‘I’m going to say yes to the Super Bowl in the middle of postpartum?’” Rihanna expresses. “What the heck am I thinking?’ But you’re geeked on a challenge like that because you know what your body just did. You feel this sense of ‘Nothing is impossible.’”
At the time of the interview, she was reportedly unaware of her second pregnancy. Many viewers noticed her baby bump during the performance, and it was later confirmed that she is pregnant with her second child, making her the first artist to perform at the Super Bowl while pregnant.
