Cardi B Turned Down the Super Bowl Halftime Show to Support Colin Kaepernick
Cardi B has confirmed she was invited to perform at the Super Bowl on Sunday but declined to “stand behind” ex-NFL player Colin Kaepernick.
Though the “Bodak Yellow” rapper is featured on Maroon 5‘s “Girls Like You,” she says she won’t join them for their 2019 Super Bowl halftime performance because of how she feels about the NFL’s treatment of Kaepernick. In a new interview with the Associated Press, Cardi explained that she was torn about the decision but ultimately turned down the opportunity in order to support the former quarterback.
“My husband [Offset], he loves football,” Cardi told the AP. “It’s really hard for him. He really wants to go to the Super Bowl, but he can’t go to the Super Bowl, because he’s got to stand for something. You have to sacrifice that. I got to sacrifice a lot of money to perform. But there’s a man who sacrificed his job for us, so we got to stand behind him.”
She’s referring to Kaepernick being blacklisted by the NFL after taking a knee instead of standing during the national anthem as a way to peacefully raise awareness of police brutality and racial inequality. Since then, Kaepernick’s contract with the San Franciso 49ers expired and wasn’t renewed, leaving him without a job and no offers from other teams. Cardi B had previously vowed that she wouldn’t perform at the Super Bowl unless he got signed—and she’s kept her promise.
But some fans have called her out for agreeing to appear in a Super Bowl commercial for Pepsi and for performing at the Bud Light Super Bowl Muid Fest with Bruno Mars.
However, Cardi pointed out that her involvement doesn’t support the NFL.
“I hear people saying like ‘Oh, y’all are saying all this stuff about the Super Bowl, but you’re doing all these parties. And it’s like, well, if the NFL could benefit off from us, then I’m going to benefit off y’all,” she said.
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