Rihanna Put Principles Before Paycheck; Turned Down Super Bowl Because She’s With Kaep

Rihanna is calling the shots, shots, shots. And putting her money where her morals are. According to Vogue, Robyn “Rihanna” Fenty declined an offer to perform at the National Football League’s Super Bowl halftime show last year.

Writer Abby Aguirre asked the music star and business mogul if it’s true that she turned down the Super Bowl halftime show in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick. “Absolutely,” she says. “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.”

Kaepernick had played in and started Super Bowl XLVII for the San Francisco 49ers in 2013. He ended up losing his job and shortly after taking a knee during the national anthem to protest racial injustice in America. He has not played in an NFL game since 2016. In May 2018, he and former teammate Eric Reid filed a collusion grievance with the NFL and settled out of court. Reid signed a contract with the Carolina Panthers and is currently playing.

In the article, Rihanna didn’t mince any words about the President of the United States’ racist views and mental state. “It is devastating,” she says. “People are being murdered by war weapons that they legally purchase. This is just not normal. That should never, ever be normal. And the fact that it’s classified as something different because of the color of their skin? It’s a slap in the face. It’s completely racist.”

She goes on: “Put an Arab man with that same weapon in that same Walmart and there is no way that Trump would sit there and address it publicly as a mental health problem. The most mentally ill human being in America right now seems to be the president.”

Recently, the Bajan singer secured $50 million in new funds from investors for her celebrity fashion line, Savage X Fenty. It was reported by Forbes earlier this year that Rihanna is reportedly worth $600 million, making her the wealthiest female musician.