- Rihanna told British Vogue why she changed her mind about performing at the Super Bowl.
- In 2018, she turned it down to stand in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick and said she "couldn't be a sellout."
Rihanna has addressed her decision to perform at the Super Bowl, which she previously turned down.
Back in 2018, the chart-topping singer rejected the offer in order to show support for Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who took a knee during the national anthem at NFL games to call attention to racial injustice and police brutality.
"I couldn't dare do that. For what? Who gains from that? Not my people," Rihanna explained in a 2019 interview with Vogue. "I just couldn't be a sellout. I couldn't be an enabler."
She added: "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."
Rihanna surprised fans when she was announced as the headliner for the 2023 halftime show, even though it marked her long-awaited return to live music.
In a new interview with British Vogue, Rihanna said she changed her mind because she values Black representation.
"There's still a lot of mending to be done in my eyes, but it's powerful to break those doors, and have representation at such a high, high level and a consistent level," she said.
"Two Super Bowls back-to-back, you know, representing the urban community, globally. It is powerful. It sends a really strong message," she added, referring to last year's headliners, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J Blige, and Kendrick Lamar.
Rihanna also said that giving birth to her son last May made her reevaluate her priorities.
"Of course, raising a young Black man is one of the scariest responsibilities in life," she said. "You're like, 'What am I leaving my kids to? This is the planet they're gonna be living on?' All of those things really start to hit differently."
During her Super Bowl performance on Sunday, Rihanna revealed that she's pregnant with her second child.
"My wish would be I would like to have more kids but whatever God wants for me, I'm here," she told British Vogue. "I'm open. Girl, boy. Whatever."