The rumors were true.
Pop superstar Rihanna told Vogue magazine that she was asked to headline the 2019 Super Bowl halftime show but turned down the gig in a show of support for former '49ers quarterback-turned-activist Colin Kaepernick.
"I couldn't dare do that," the 31-year-old singer, who appears on the cover of Vogue's November issue, told the magazine. "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."
So proud to be on another cover of @voguemagazine wearing my own designs from @FentyOfficial !!! On stands October 16th!
— Rihanna (@rihanna) October 9, 2019
Photographer: @ethjgreen
Fashion Editor: Tonne Goodman
Hair: @yusefhairnyc
Makeup: Kanako Takasehttps://t.co/ARYg5Fmufj pic.twitter.com/LU9TEe1NEh
The new interview confirmed articles published by Us Weekly, "Entertainment Tonight" and other outlets last year.
Kaepernick, who made headlines in 2016 by kneeling during the national anthem in protest of racial injustice, hasn't publicly commented on Rihanna's interview. He did, however, retweet several posts about the story, including one by filmmaker Ava DuVernay.
“I couldn’t dare do that. For what? Who gains? Not my people. I just couldn’t be a sellout. An enabler. There’s things within that organization I don’t agree with and I was not about to go and be of service to them in any way.” - On Kaepernick + Super Bowl https://t.co/SR9gIcZHkv
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) October 9, 2019
Cox Media Group
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