Cardi B has confirmed she turned down the chance to appear on stage during this year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show, as a show of support for football player Colin Kaepernick.
Last year, Colin made headlines when he refused to stand for the US national anthem, instead choosing to “take a knee” as a protest against police brutality and institutional racism.
Rumours previously suggested that Cardi B had declined the chance to appear during the Halftime Show, as a show of solidarity with Colin, which she has now confirmed to be the case.
Revealing she was approached to appear with Maroon 5 to perform their hit Girl Like You, Cardi told Entertainment Tonight: “It wouldn’t be the perfect time. I stand on what I stand, you know what I’m saying? I stand on what I stand.
“I can’t push my limits. My soul wouldn’t feel right. But I know me and Maroon 5 have a lot of performances coming [up]. That song just means so much to me.”
It was previously reported that Rihanna had also turned down a Halftime Show offer for the same reason as Cardi, while Jay-Z bragged on his 2018 Beyoncé collaboration Apeshit that he’d “said no to the Super Bowl”. The Apeshit music video also featured football players “taking a knee”.
Earlier this week, Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine spoke out about their controversial decision to accept the gig, commenting: “It took a lot of looking inward and introspection and I thought to myself, ‘What is my greatest tool, you know, what is the thing that I can use to express myself … the best way for the band to express themselves, and how are we going to do it this year? What do we owe ourselves, what do we owe the people?’
Adam went on to say he is “beyond proud” of the show that has been put together, adding: “[I have] literally never, never been more excited in my entire life to present this to the people because I believe that it’s truly a reflection of all of us.”
Maroon 5 will be joined on stage by rappers Big Boi and Travis Scott, the former of whom was raised in Atlanta, Georgia, where this year’s Super Bowl is taking place.