It’s no secret that Rihanna isn’t shy when it comes to standing firm in her beliefs. In an interview with Vogue, the Anti artist discussed topics from her forthcoming album to politics to the National Football League (NFL). On the latter subject, Rihanna openly shared why she opted out of performing at the Super Bowl Halftime Show.
Citing her unwavering support of Colin Kaepernick, the 31-year-old business mogul said her discrepancy with how the league operates was a factor in her decision to stay off the turf. “I couldn’t dare do that,” she began. “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.”
Since 2016, Kaepernick has remained steadfast in his fight for equality for social to economic concerns in the United States. He began bringing awareness to his cause by kneeling during the national anthem ahead of regulation, which became a controversial gesture for the league’s officials.
Rihanna then discussed the mass shootings that have occurred in the country this year and Donald Trump’s classification of it being a cause of mental illness. “People are being murdered by war weapons that they legally purchase. This is just not normal. That should never, ever be normal. And the fact that it’s classified as something different because of the color of their skin? It’s a slap in the face,” she said. “It’s completely racist…Put an Arab man with that same weapon in that same Walmart and there is no way that Trump would sit there and address it publicly as a mental health problem. The most mentally ill human being in America right now seems to be the president.”
Rihanna also discussed her burgeoning businesses and forthcoming album.
