Cardi B confirmed in a new interview that she declined to perform at the Super Bowl LIII halftime show due to her support of Colin Kaepernick.
Speaking to the Associated Press two days before Super Sunday, the rapper admitted she had “mixed feelings” about turning down the NFL’s invitation but opted to “stand behind” Kaepernick after the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback “stood up” for minorities with his anthem protests.
“My husband [Offset], 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,” Cardi B said.
“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.”
The Grammy-nominated rapper, coming off a breakthrough 2018, seemed like a shoo-in for the halftime show due to her hit single “Girls Like You” with Maroon 5, the Super Bowl LIII halftime headliner.
However, in December, Cardi B’s reps revealed that the rapper turned down the Super Bowl invitation, “There [were] talks about it, but she was not particularly interested in participating because of how she feels about Colin Kaepernick and the whole movement.”
Instead of participating in the Super Bowl itself, Cardi B – like artists including Migos, Aerosmith, Bruno Mars and more – headed to Atlanta to perform at the Super Bowl Music Fest.
“I hear people saying like ‘Oh, y’all are saying all this stuff about the Super Bowl, but you’re doing all these parties,’” Cardi B told the AP. “And it’s like, well, if the NFL could benefit off from us, then I’m going to benefit off y’all. Y’all make the most money off our people. Why am I not going to take advantage of y’all and take money from y’all too? Because of y’all, we are getting these parties. OK, thank you.”