ATLANTA (CelebrityAccess) Cardi B, in an interview with the Associated Press last night, said that she has “mixed feelings” about not participating in the halftime show at tomorrow’s Super Bowl.
The show, featuring Maroon 5, has been criticized because of the controversial decision by former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick to “take a knee” during the flag ceremony at the beginning of games to protest violence against African-Americans. Rihanna allegedly turned down an offer by the NFL to perform in support of Kaepernick, and Cardi B said she struggled with the decision to turn down a lucrative offer to join in on this year’s event.
“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,” Cardi B told the AP.
“You have to sacrifice that,” she added. “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.”
Pink also reportedly turned down an offer to perform and, in a recent song, Jay-Z alluded to declining to perform as well. Comedian Amy Schumer refused to appear in a TV ad during the game.
Cardi B is expected to perform at a Super Bowl concert tonight and is hosting a party this week. She will also appear in a Super Bowl ad.
“I hear people saying like ‘Oh, y’all are saying all this stuff about the Super Bowl, but you’re doing all these parties,’” she said. “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.”
Cardi B added that she hopes the protests supporting Kaepernick will lead to positive change but doesn’t expect it to happen immediately.
“We got an arrogant president, and the racism right now has been reborn,” she said. “They feel mighty brave nowadays. When Obama was around, I just feel like they were praying on the day when his eight years was over. A lot of jealousy.”
Cardi B added: “When they see (how) the choices they made due to racism has affected the country, that’s when things are going to start changing. Right now, they don’t want to accept that their decision has affected the country.”
