Rihanna knows all too well that fame comes with its downsides — like that horny stalker who broke into her house.
But it also has its upsides. As one of the most talented singers in the world, Rihanna was invited to do the Superbowl Halftime Show.
Rihanna said no, though — because she supports Colin Kaepernick.
Us Weekly reports that Rihanna turned down an offer to perform at the Superbowl Halftime Show.
“The NFL and CBS really wanted Rihanna to be next year’s performer in Atlanta,” the insider reveals.
Rihanna, the actress, singer, and beauty mogul, said no.
Her reason, the source says, is because she “supports Colin Kaepernick.”
Kaepernick is currently at odds with the NFL over their policy against kneeling during the Anthem, and over their icing him out of his football career.
To be clear, the report says that Rihanna was approached to do this — she didn’t just announce that she wouldn’t do it.
“They offered it to her,” the insider says.
“But,” the source explains. “She said no because of the kneeling controversy.”
For a time, it looked like the NFL would take the moral high ground for once and defend its players and support their freedom of expression.
Instead, the NFL caved to the demands of some of its viewers out of fear of lower ratings.
The insider says of Rihanna: “She doesn’t agree with the NFL’s stance.”
Colin Kaepernick is the face of the countless NFL players who knelt in protest during the Anthem.
The kneeling is a silent, peaceful protest of racial injustice and particularly of the killing of unarmed black people by police, most of whom seem to escape justice.
This controversial protest earned him a spot as GQ‘s 2017 Man of the Year.
It has also earned him infamy as the target of vitriolic racists.
Though he is now the face of Nike, Kaepernick’s football career took a nosedive as teams refused to hire him.
In 2017, he filed a grievance against the NFL, accusing the organization of colluding in order to prevent him from being hired despite his athletic record.
That Rihanna is taking a stand on this is huge, actually.
The NFL Halftime show is the biggest and most talked about musical performance of any given year.
(In fact, those of us who don’t watch sports at all still generally tune in to the Halftime Show, either because we like the performer or out of fear of missing out)
Rihanna may not need the money or the visibility, but turning down the Halftime Show just to take a stand is … a huge power move.
It’s also just plain ballsy.
No offense to Pete Davidson, but nobody radiates “big dick energy” like Rihanna.
The NFL has a controversial history — so much so that it has been characterized by some as a criminal enterprise.
There have been alleged cover-ups of domestic abuse committed by players.
There have been alleged cover-ups of vital medical information that shows the irreversible brain damage that playing football does to the human brain.
There’s the massively unjust the way that professional cheerleaders are treated.
There’s the way that the NFL relies upon taxpayers to foot the bill for what should be private costs.
And now, the organization has caved to hate and ignorance instead of standing up for the players.
There are very few talents in this world who can follow an act like Rihanna. You don’t even need all of the fingers on one hand to count them.
According to Us Weekly, the Halftime Show may go to Cardi B.
“She is definitely being considered,” an insider claims. “But it’s obviously way too early to say for sure.”
Says the source: “Pepsi, the NFL, and Cardi are all interested in her performing more than just her ‘Girls Like You’ verse.”
That sounds like someone’s throwing a little shade.
But now that Rihanna has backed out, we wonder if other stars are going to feel pressured to back out in solidarity if they get the offer.
