Rihanna Getting Called Out For Previous Super Bowl Stance Related to NFL’s Treatment of Colin Kaepernick

Rihanna has done a 180 about doing the Super Bowl halftime show.

The singer’s highly anticipated return to the stage will include the first halftime show under the N.F.L.’s new sponsorship deal with Apple Music. Rihanna quickly confirmed to the world that she would be headlining the LVII Halftime Show with a picture of an NFL branded football on her Instagram. Roc Nation followed shortly after, officially confirming their participation as the strategic entertainment advisors of Rihanna’s live performance.

Rihanna’s move marks a big change from the singer, who previously turned down an offer to headline the show in 2019 to show solidarity with the NFL star Colin Kaepernick. A former starting quarterback with the San Francisco 49ers, Kaepernick hasn’t played in the league since 2016 after his decision to kneel during the pre-game national anthem. He since claims he’s been blackballed from the league over his protests.

Kaepernick later filed a lawsuit against the NFL, alleging that the leagues owner’s were colluding to keep him off the field.

Rihanna said at the time that she would have been an “enabler” if she had accepted the slot.

“I just couldn’t be a sell-out,” she told Vogue magazine. “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.”

Of course Social Media didn’t forget about her previous comments.

The show is easily one of the most coveted slots in music, with this year’s 14-minute spectacle drawing in more than 120 million viewers, the NFL said.

Amazing how things have changed for Rihanna in only a few years.


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