Cardi B Speaks Out About Declining Super Bowl Halftime To Support Colin Kaepernick
Cardi B admits that turning down an offer to perform at the Super Bowl was challenging. The singer declined the high-powered gig so that she can support ex-NFL player Colin Kaepernick, who’s been peacefully protesting police brutality among other social issues facing black Americans by taking a knee during the national anthem.
The Grammy-nominated rapper told The Associated Press that she had “mixed feelings” after she declined to take the stage, adding it was a hard choice since her husband, Offset, loves to watch football.
Still, she felt obligated to “stand behind” Colin because he “stood up” for minorities.
“My husband, he loves football. His kids play football. 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,” said Cardi. “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.”
Colin Kaepernick started a wave of additional protests, and his efforts ignited a political firestorm over whether social justice needs to be addressed at the NFL’s marquee event.
Other performers like Rihanna and Pink reportedly turned down offers as well to perform at the Super Bowl. Eventually, Maroon 5 said yes.