CEO and music creative Robyn Rihanna Fenty took to Instagram today where she appeared to confirms rumors she will perform at the NFL’s Super Bowl Halftime Show in February 2023.
Her post followed reporting from TMZ that Roc Nation has been in talks with Rihanna on performing at the event. TMZ noted there also have been discussions with a second performer who would appear alongside Rihanna. Given Rihanna is managed by Roc Nation, the negotiation at the very least involves players who are all familiar with each other.
While Rihanna has been spotted on a number of occasions in the studio with A$AP Rocky, she hasn’t released any new music since 2020 when she was featured on PartyNextDoor‘s “Believe It.” Her last album, Anti, was released in 2018.
Rihanna was offered the Halftime Show headline spot for the 2019 season, but took a pass in solidarity with NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who received intense blowback for protesting against racial injustice prior to games by either sitting or kneeling during the National Anthem during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Despite being viewed as a talented quarterback, he wasn’t picked up by any team after he became a free agent in 2018.
Commenting on the decision to turn down Super Bowl Halftime Show because of Kaepernick, she told Vogue, “Absolutely, 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.”
