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Rihanna Turned Down Performing at the Super Bowl Halftime Show

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Amelia Oates
Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Alexis DiZenzo
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Fairfield chapter.

As many of you have heard, it has been announced that Maroon 5 will be the halftime show performers for Super Bowl LIII. But what many people have not heard was that they were not the NFL and CBS’s first choice.

 

There have been recent reports that Rihanna was the first choice to perform in Atlanta in February, but she rejected their offer.

 

Rihanna declined the offer because she stands with Colin Kaepernick, former quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers whose career came to a screeching halt two years ago.

 

Kaepernick became the center of controversy in the NFL when he decided to take a knee during the national anthem back in 2016 as a way to take a public stance against police brutality and racial inequality.  

 

 

Kaepernick has not played since the controversy started. Last November, he entered free agency and filed a formal grievance against the NFL for being kept off the field unlawfully.

 

Rihanna does not agree with the action the NFL has taken against Kaepernick, and decided that she would not perform because of it.

 

She is not the first celebrity to show support of Colin Kaepernick, as she follows both Jane Fonda and Beyoncé who have both already showed their support of the quarterback publicly.

 

Rihanna has stood up for what she believes in and turned down what is one of the most sought-after performance experiences because of it. And we have to say, that is pretty cool of her.

 

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Amelia Oates

Fairfield

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Alexis DiZenzo is a motivated Connecticut native. She attends Fairfield University where she is majoring in digital journalism and minoring in marketing. She is currently co-campus corespondent of Fairfield's Her Campus chapter. Along with managing Her Campus Fairfield, Alexis has interned with The Secured Lender Magazine, and NBC Sports. She is a contributing writer for Elite Daily as well as Thought Catalog. In the early stages of her college career, Alexis has taken the initiative to reach far among the stars and achieve goals early on. She has a great sense of editing, writing, publishing, marketing and leadership as well as strong interpersonal skills. (And a fun-loving, outgoing personality!) Alexis' favorite book (and movie) is The Great Gatsby, she lives by the words of Carrie Bradshaw and you could definitely find her on a beach, soaking up the sun. Instagram @alexisdizenzo www.alexisfdizenzo.com