Rihanna Confirms She Turned Down Super Bowl Performance: “I Just Couldn’t Be A Sellout”

Dino-Ray Ramos

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Don’t expect to see Rihanna perform at the Super Bowl now or in the future for that matter. After reports came out she decided against performing at halftime of the big game earlier this year in an effort to stand in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, the R&B singer and actor confirmed that she did in fact turn down the gig.

In an interview with Vogue, Rihanna said in regards to turning down the Super Bowl halftime show: “For what? Who gains from that? Not my people.”

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She continued, “I just couldn’t be a sellout. 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.”

Kaepernick was shunned from the NFL and hasn’t appeared since the 2016 season after beginning the practice of taking a knee in protest during the National Anthem to raise awareness of police brutality against people of color.

Word first got out that Rihanna turned down performing at the Super Bowl in October 2018.

On Super Bowl Sunday last year, while on a flight, she posted an Instagram video where she is subtly throwing shade at a passenger asking where they can watch the Super Bowl. Kaepernick responded with a tweet saying, “I really appreciate @rihanna keepin it 100.”

 

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