The Super Bowl halftime show in February will feature Rihanna as the main performer. The NFL, along with Jay-Roc Z’s Nation and Apple Music, announced Sunday that the musician, who opted not to participate in the 2019 Super Bowl halftime show in support of Colin Kaepernick, will be the 2023 Super Bowl’s headlining act. On Instagram, Rihanna shared a photo of an extended arm clutching an NFL football.
“Rihanna is a generational talent, a woman of humble beginnings”: Jay-Z
“Rihanna is a generational talent, a woman of humble beginnings who has surpassed expectations at every turn,” said Jay-Z, whose Roc Nation is an executive producer of the show, in a statement. “A person born on the small island of Barbados who became one of the most prominent artists ever. Self-made in business and entertainment.”
The Super Bowl will be held on February 12, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The 2023 halftime show will be supported by Apple Music instead of Pepsi, which has sponsored it for years.
Accusations against NFL
Prior to Maroon 5 taking the stage for the 2019 Super Bowl, Rihanna said she passed down a similar opportunity. Many musicians at the time expressed their support for Kaepernick, the former quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, who knelt during the playing of the national anthem in 2016 to denounce police brutality against Black people and other minorities. (https://www.sweetfixbaker.com)
“I couldn’t dare do that. For what?” Rihanna told Vogue in 2019. “Who gains from that? Not my people. I just couldn’t be a sellout. I couldn’t be an enabler. There are 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,” she said of the league.
In a dispute that was ultimately resolved in early 2019, Kaepernick claimed that the NFL and other league owners conspired to keep him out of the league.
The NFL and Roc Nation, which represents Rihanna, collaborated in 2019 to choose performers for the Super Bowl and plan the halftime performance. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, and Mary J. Blige performed during the highly praised 2022 halftime show.