Rihanna is maybe the most famous multi-hyphenate in the world, and under that umbrella (heh) comes ‘philanthropist’. And, now she’s proven that she is a woman of her word, as it is revealed that she turned down the 2019 Superbowl Halftime Performance.
In a recent and very long interview with Vogue Magazine, the superstar admitted that she turned down the performance – which eventually went to Maroon 5 – because she doesn’t agree with decisions the NFL have made in recent years, with particular note to the treatment of Colin Kaepernick when he began kneeling during the US National Anthem in protest of gun violence, police brutality and racism against African-Americans.
“I couldn’t dare do that. For what? Who gains from that? Not my people,” she said.
“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.”
She also mentioned her ever-elusive ninth album, that her fans have been desperate for since she’s been busy handling other things – like her cosmetics and fashion empire.
“I have been trying to get back into the studio,” she said.
“It’s not like I can lock myself in for an extended amount of time, like I had the luxury of doing before. I know I have some very unhappy fans who don’t understand the inside bits of how it works.”
“I like to look at it as a reggae-inspired or reggae-infused album. It’s not gonna be typical of what you know as reggae. But you’re going to feel the elements in all of the tracks.”
You can read the full profile with Vogue here.
