- Rihanna headlined the Super Bowl halftime show earlier this month.
- Many viewers filed complaints with the FCC and claimed her performance was too sexual, Billboard reports.
The Federal Communications Commission received an influx of complaints after Rihanna headlined the Super Bowl halftime show, with a chunk of viewers claiming the performance was too sexual.
Rihanna took the stage on February 12 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. She performed a medley of hits, including "Work" and "Rude Boy," on top of revealing her second pregnancy to the world.
Although Rihanna's musical comeback was celebrated by many fans, the FCC received over 100 indecency complaints in its wake, according to Billboard.
The comments include descriptions of Rihanna's "inappropriate touching and dance moves," describing the show as "very raunchy for a family to watch" and "sick sick sick."
Other complaints were more specific, referring to "genital grabbing, sniffing of her fingers," "gyrating," and "perpetual air humping," Billboard reports. Someone else complained that Rihanna was "glorifying being a stripper" despite the singer and her dancers remaining fully clothed throughout the entirety of the 13-minute performance.
"Can we please have a half time show where the artist doesn't grab their crotch or try to dry hump the lead singer," wrote one viewer from Brush Prairie, Washington. "I really don't want to see 30 back up dancers doing pelvic thrusts. Ew. Also, twerking should rank up there with the F bomb."
"The halftime show was disgusting," wrote another from Ellicott City, Maryland. "Scratching your crotch and anus and the sniffing your fingers makes me puke. The devil sequence was blatantly anti Christian and so inappropriate. Why is this trash allowed on television?"
This isn't unusual following a high-profile performance — particularly if the performer is a woman of color or a queer person.
As Billboard previously reported, Shakira and Jennifer Lopez's joint performance at the Super Bowl in 2020 resulted in over 1,000 complaints to the FCC. Similarly, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's performance at the 2021 Grammys was deemed "pornographic" and "vulgar" by viewers who filed complaints.
More recently, Sam Smith and Kim Petras were slammed by conservatives like Ted Cruz after performing their award-winning duet "Unholy" at the 2023 Grammys. (That same night, Smith and Petras made history as the first nonbinary artist and first transgender artist, respectively, to win the award for best pop duo/group performance.)
Smith and Petras were described as "devil worshipping acolytes" in FCC complaints, according to Complex.