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'Hypocrite and a sellout': Rihanna slammed for headlining Super Bowl despite supporting Colin Kaepernick

Rihanna had the chance to perform during the 2019 Super Bowl halftime show, but she declined to do so in support of Kaepernick

GLENDALE, ARIZONA: The half-time performance for the 2023 Super Bowl in Arizona will be headlined by pop star Rihanna. On Sunday, September 25, the nine-time Grammy winner confirmed the exciting news by posting a picture of her tattooed arm holding up an NFL football on her Instagram. Fans of the 'Umbrella' hitmaker were overjoyed to see her perform again after a long absence, while Colin Kaepernick supporters thought it was hypocritical.

Kaepernick, a quarterback, started kneeling during the playing of the national anthem in 2016 to protest racial injustice in the US. He hasn't participated in an NFL game since leaving the San Francisco 49ers in 2017. He later reached a settlement with the league over his claim that team owners had blacklisted him because of his protests. And when Rihanna had the chance to perform during the 2019 Super Bowl halftime show, she declined to do so in support of Kaepernick.

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The legendary Barbadian artist was asked in an interview with Vogue in October 2019 if she had declined the Super Bowl in solidarity with Kaepernick. "Absolutely," she responded. "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 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."

Rihanna's decision to accept the gig this time was condemned by social media users, with one person tweeting, "I am disappointed that Rihanna is performing at the super bowl after turning it down years ago in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick." Another individual responding to a tweet from 2019 wrote, "She's a hypocrite and a sell out. She ended up agreeing to do the Super Bowl."

A third fan wrote, "Don't you just love a hypocrite! Rihanna refused to do the super bowl last year in solidarity for suck hole Colin but I guess she is not getting the attention she needs because her solidarity just went out the window and will do the super bowl this year lol. I dont watch anyway."

Another person claimed that Rihanna's decision to perform at the halftime show undermined her 2019 protest. "Ok didn't rihanna refuse to perform at the super bowl half time in 2019 in solidarity with colin kaepernick? what changed her mind this time around? the nfl still hasn't apologized to him or given him his job back. i'm all for her performing but it undermines her 2019 protest,' they wrote.

On Sunday, September 25, the musician announced the news of her performing at Super Bowl halftime show through Instagram, posting a picture of herself cradling an NFL-branded football. On February 12, 2023, she is slated to appear at the event. State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona will serve as the venue, and Fox will broadcast it live.