via Rihanna Instagram
It was recently announced that Maroon 5 and Cardi B have been approached about headlining the Super Bowl LIII Halftime Show next year, but it looks like there was another first choice who was approached and declined.
According to reports, the NFL reached out to Rihanna to have her be the official headliner, but Riri wanted no parts of it and declined an offer in support of Colin Kaepernick according to US Weekly.
“The NFL and CBS really wanted Rihanna to be next year’s performer in Atlanta,” the insider reveals. “They offered it to her, but she said no because of the kneeling controversy. She doesn’t agree with the NFL’s stance.”
Kaepernick, who once admitted to having a crush on Rihanna, was the first NFL player to kneel during the national anthem in protest of police brutality and racial inequality. The former San Fransisco 49ers quarterback, 30, has not played since stirring controversy during the 2016 season. He filed a grievance against the league and its owners in November 2017, accusing them of colluding to keep him off the field.
After Rihanna, 30, rebuffed the halftime offer, the NFL extended it to Maroon 5. Us Weekly broke the news in September that the Adam Levine-fronted pop-rock group gleefully accepted.
