Did Rihanna Just Contradict Herself?

Photo from Pexels by Dome Dussadeechettakul

Emily Hokanson

Millions tuned in this past weekend to watch a record-breaking Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. With the Kelce brothers against each other and the two highest ranked quarterbacks in the league, it was a must-watch game. 

To make it even better, after not performing live for over six years, Rihanna made her debut as the lead performer of the Super Bowl halftime show. It is undoubtedly one of the most talked about Super Bowl halftime shows in history, but Rihanna just contradicted herself by doing it. 

Back in 2019, Rihanna was offered the same opportunity to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show, but she turned it down. The reason? Not because of scheduling conflicts or money, but to support the protests started by Colin Kaepernick back in 2016.

In an interview with Vogue, Rihanna was asked why she turned down the offer and she responded with, “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.”

The “organization” she was referring to is the NFL. By declining that offer and speaking out about the issues within the league, she was showing her support for players who were protesting systemic racism within the United States.  

So why did she decide to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show this year?

That question remains unanswered, seeing that the conditions the players were protesting are still very prominent. With the murders of George Floyd and Tyre Nichols, it can be arguably said that the conditions have worsened since the Vogue interview in 2019.

In a recent interview with Apple Music radio Rihanna was asked why doing the Super Bowl now was the right time and she said, “There’s something exhilarating about the challenge of it all and it’s important for me to do this now, it’s important for representation, it’s important for my son to see that.”

It seems like “representation” was a very important factor in Rihanna’s decision to do the halftime show. But many have speculated that Rihanna may have changed her mind because of the money and publicity. 

While the production of the halftime performance is estimated to be about $10 million, none of that money will go to Rihanna. The NFL does not give a direct check to any Super Bowl halftime show performer, but past performances have proven that the publicity itself is what earns the most money. 

Rihanna will make a high amount of revenue from her sponsor, Apple Music, and Fenty Super Bowl merch that was sold at the Super Bowl and online. And it doesn’t stop there. Past halftime show performers have experienced major increases in streams and music sales after their performance.

The Weeknd is a great example of this. After his 2021 performance, his music sales soared 385%, according to Billboard. Streaming of his song on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music increased by about 41% as well. So it can be said with certainty that Rihanna will not be walking away empty handed, but is that what truly changed her mind?

Now the question isn’t if she contradicted herself, it's why.