Rihanna's Colin Kaepernick Comments Resurface Amid NFL News: 'Hypocritical'

Rihanna's past comments about the Super Bowl Halftime Show have resurfaced after it was announced she would headline the 2023 event.

In 2019, the "We Found Love" singer, 34, turned down the opportunity to perform during NFL's biggest night in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick.

The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, also 34, made headlines in 2016 for refusing to stand during the national anthem to protest against police brutality and racial injustice in the United States.

Following a pre-season game against the Green Bay Packers that August, Kaepernick explained why he would often take a knee during "The Star-Spangled Banner."

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color," he told an NFL.com reporter. "To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."

The 49ers also issued a statement at the time: "The national anthem is and always will be a special part of the pre-game ceremony. It is an opportunity to honor our country and reflect on the great liberties we are afforded as its citizens," the message read.

"In respecting such American principles as freedom of religion and freedom of expression, we recognize the right of an individual to choose and participate, or not, in our celebration of the national anthem."

During an interview with Vogue in 2019, Rihanna confirmed she declined the halftime show.

"Absolutely," she told the outlet when asked about the rumors. "I couldn't dare do that. 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."

Instead, the slot went to Maroon 5.

In February 2019, Rihanna posted an artist's image on Instagram of Kaepernick taking a knee while wearing a football uniform and wrote, "For those of you who thought I was watchin the Super Bowl ... we beefin."

Kaepernick, who saw her message, replied via Twitter, "I really appreciate Rihanna keepin it 100."

On Sunday, September 25, the NFL announced in a press release that "international icon, entrepreneur and philanthropist" Rihanna would be taking the stage on February 12, 2023 during the Super Bowl Halftime Show in Glendale, Arizona.

The NFL also took to Instagram to reveal the news, sharing a photo of the mom of one—who shares a son with boyfriend A$AP Rocky—holding a football.

"Let's GO," they captioned the image, which Rihanna reposted to her own account.

Despite fans and celebrities rallying around the Barbados native, others wondered why she suddenly had a change of heart.

"I'm not coming for anyone. I just wanna remind everyone," entrepreneur Dee Phunk tweeted via his verified account while linking to a Washington Post article titled, "Colin Kaepernick thanks Rihanna for her Super Bowl boycott."

"Oh whoops," writer Wynter Mitchell Rohrbaugh added along with the TMZ article, "Rihanna On Rejecting Super Bowl Over Colin Kaepernick 'I Couldn't Be a Sellout.'"

Another user wrote, "A few years ago, @rihanna turned down the Super Bowl halftime show in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick and b/c she said she 'couldn't be a sellout.' - but today she's okay with being a sellout. #stickwithyourprinciples"

"Wait, wasn't Rihanna like suuuper loud with her support for Colin Kaepernick?" a fourth asked on the platform, while a fifth said, "She being hypocritical is not the flex you think it is, is she now a sell out?"

Others, meanwhile, speculated she may somehow incorporate Kaepernick into her performance.

"Rihanna should come on stage with a Kaepernick shirt on or something," someone suggested, as a separate user said, "Rihanna gon [sic] pull up to the Super Bowl with a Kaepernick jersey."

Rihanna has not yet given any reaction to the announcement.