Hard pass. Rihanna wanted nothing to do with Super Bowl LIII, a fact she made all too clear while on a flight mid-game.
The “We Found Love” singer, 30, shared a video to Instagram Stories on Sunday, February 3, that showed her chewing a piece of gum while looking extremely bored as passengers around her discussed whether they could livestream the game.
“How can we watch the Super Bowl on the flight?” she captioned the clip, followed by a sarcastic, “Me,” in reference to her unamused expression.
The Grammy winner also shared a subsequent video in which she mocked a fellow traveler that sat behind her, writing, “Weirdo” above his head, as well as a photo of Colin Kaepernick on one knee, which she captioned, “For those of you who thought I was watchin the super bowl … we beefin.”
Us Weekly exclusively revealed in October that the Ocean’s 8 actress declined to headline the 2019 Super Bowl Halftime Show because “she supports Colin Kaepernick.”
“The NFL and CBS really wanted Rihanna to be next year’s performer in Atlanta,” a source told Us at the time. “They offered it to her, but she said no because of the kneeling controversy. She doesn’t agree with the NFL’s stance.”
The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, 31, sparked controversy in 2016 when he refused to stand for the national anthem in a peaceful protest against racial inequality and police brutality in August 2016. “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” the athlete told NFL Media at the time. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way.”
Though the NFL also released a statement which stated that “Players are encouraged but not required to stand during the playing of the national anthem,” Kapernick filed a grievance against the organization and its owners in October 2017, accusing them of collusion and depriving him of “employment rights in retaliation.”
Though he has been in discussions with several teams since opting out of his contract with the 49ers in March 2017, including the Denver Broncos, the Baltimore Ravens and the Seattle Seahawks, the athlete has not been signed.
Maroon 5 performed in Rihanna’s stead, with Travis Scott and Big Boi also making appearances. While the group’s frontman, Adam Levine, brushed off backlash ahead of the show, telling Entertainment Tonight that he was “not in the right profession if I can’t handle a bit of controversy,” he addressed his critics on Instagram post-show on Sunday.
“When we accepted the responsibility to perform at the SBHTS, I took out my pen and just wrote. Some of the words that came to me in that moment eventually made their way onto the incredible lanterns that flew high and low tonight,” Levine, 39, captioned photos from the event. “We thank the universe for this historic opportunity to play on the world’s biggest stage. We thank our fans for making our dreams possible. And we thank our critics for always pushing us to do better. One Love.”
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