While fans of the 'Take a Bow' hitmaker are thrilled to have the musician back to music after waiting for years, supporters of the former NFL quarterback deem it as a hypocritical move.
- Sep 28, 2022
AceShowbiz - Not everyone was happy after it was revealed that Rihanna will headline 2023 Super Bowl Halftime Show. While fans of the "Umbrella" hitmaker were thrilled to have her back to music after waiting for years, supporters of Colin Kaepernick deemed it as a hypocritical move.
Some people took to social media to question Rihanna's decision to take the gig since she initially sided with Colin in his protest against the National Football League. "You literally said you wouldn't do it 2 years ago…….. did injustice change in 2 years? Hypocrite," one Twitter user wrote, referring to Rihanna turning down the opportunity to perform during the Pepsi Halftime Show in support of the athlete back in 2019.
Also criticizing the Barbadian star, someone else tweeted, "Rihanna is hypocrite. She was liking shady tweets about jayz nfl." Another user noted, "A few years ago, Rihanna turned down the Super Bowl halftime show in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick and b/c she said she 'couldn't be a sellout.' But today she's proudly announcing she'll headline this year's show. Has something changed at the NFL that i haven't heard about?"
Echoing the sentiment, one other said, "And this statement of Rihanna was made in 2019. It wasn't that long ago.... and Jayz was already working with the NFL when she shaded the f**k out of a lot people with her statement.... it's fine to like Rihanna and still say she look like a hypocrite."
Rihanna made the "sellout" remarks in her interview with Vogue. The Fenty Beauty founder also shared at the time, "I couldn't be an enabler. There's things within that organization that I don't agree with at all, and I was not about to go an be of any service to them [the NFL] in any way."
The musician took to her Instagram account to make the exciting announcement on Sunday, September 25, posting a photo of herself holding an NFL-branded football. The NFL itself also confirmed the news by retweeting a post by Roc Nation that featured the same photo which RiRi has shared. "Let's GO," the label and management company captioned the post.
Following the announcement, Apple's vice president of Apple Music and Beats, Oliver Schusser, gushed over RiRi in a statement. "Rihanna is an incredible recording artist who is a favorite for many millions of Apple Music customers around the world," Oliver raved. "We're excited to partner with Rihanna, Roc Nation and the NFL to bring music and sports fans a momentous show - what an incredible artist for the inaugural Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show."
Rihanna is set to perform at the spectacle on February 12, 2023. It will take place at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona and air live on Fox.
