Four years after stating she had declined to participate in the Super Bowl halftime show in protest over racial problems, Rihanna says she will use her appearance during Sunday’s NFL championship game to represent immigrants and black women.
The nine-times Grammy award-winning singer will perform during the intermission of Sunday’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles in what is normally the most-watched telecast of the year on US television.
The Barbados-born singer has not played a live gig in seven years.
“The Super Bowl is one of the largest platforms in the world. As terrifying as it was since I haven’t been on stage in seven years, something is thrilling about the challenge of it all,” she told a media conference on Thursday.
“It’s crucial for me to accomplish this, this year. It’s vital for representation. My kid must witness this,” she continued.
In 2019 she revealed she had declined the offer from the NFL in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who had been demonstrating against racism and police brutality by taking a knee.
Kaepernick launched a grievance against the NFL club owners, subsequently dropped following a settlement, saying they had conspired to keep him out of the league after he had been unable to find a team.
Rihanna added in an interview with Vogue in 2019 that she “couldn’t be a sellout, I couldn’t be an enabler” and that there were things inside the NFL “that I do not agree with at all”.
The singer did not have the normal pre-Super Bowl news conference but had an interview with a presenter from half-time show sponsors Apple Song and she stated her music will represent her Caribbean background.
“That’s a large part of why this is essential for me to make this show: representation. Representing immigrants. Representing black women worldwide. That’s crucial for people to recognize the possibilities,” she added.
“It’s a long distance from home, right? It’s a great adventure that I’m on. I could have never anticipated that I would have made it here, therefore it’s a celebration of that. I’m incredibly delighted to put Barbados on the Super Bowl stage.”
Rihanna gave away no indications about who her anticipated guest artists will be on stage but claimed her set list would be a “celebration” of her career.
