Rihanna turned down Super Bowl halftime show because she's not a 'sellout'

10 October 2019

Rihanna turned down the Super Bowl halftime show because she didn't want to be seen as a "sellout".

Rihanna

The 'Wild Thoughts' singer previously revealed she rejected the chance to headline this year's show amid the controversy surrounding former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick's take-a-knee movement, which protests against racial inequality in the US.

And the Bajan singer has now admitted she also didn't want to be seen to be showing support to an organisation whose practices she disapproves of, which is why she turned down a mega-sum of money for the gig.

She told America's Vogue magazine: "I couldn't dare do that. For what? Who gains from that?

"Not my people. I just couldn't be a sellout.

"I couldn't be an enabler. There's things within that organisation that I do not agree with at all, and I was not about to go and be of service to them in any way."

On the day of the game held in February, Rihanna poked fun at a passenger on-board a flight she was travelling on, as he asked whether he'd be able to watch the showpiece sporting occasion from his seat.

The 'Umbrella' hitmaker called the passenger a "weirdo" and on her Instagram Stories, she was seen making various facial expressions to show that she was unimpressed by his request.

Hours later, Rihanna reiterated her support for Kaepernick by sharing an illustrated drawing of the sportsman.

The caption read: "For those of you who thought I was watchin the Super Bowl... we beefin (sic)"

In the end, this year's Super Bowl halftime show was played by Maroon 5, who were joined on stage at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, by Travis Scott and OutKast rapper Big Boi.

The band were widely criticised for agreeing to play the gig, but frontman Adam Levine. defended the decision, saying that he gave the issue serious consideration before he committed to playing the halftime show.

The singer - who is married to model Behati Prinsloo - said: "No one thought about it more than I did.

"No one put more thought and love into this than I did. I spoke to many people, most importantly though, I silenced all the noise and listened to myself, and made my decision about how I felt."

It was recently confirmed that Jennifer Lopez and Shakira will play the 2020 halftime show.