Super Bowl half time performers stir up controversy
The Super Bowl LIII halftime show performers were officially announced, and it’s stirring up some controversy. Pop group Maroon 5 will headline the halftime show, and rappers Travis Scott and Big Boi will join the band.
Super Bowl LIII is set to air at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 3 on CBS. Seven-time Grammy Award winning R&B and soul artist, Gladys Knight, will be performing the national anthem before kickoff. Sisters and R&B duo, Chloe x Halle will be performing “America the Beautiful” during the pregame.
Finding a performer to headline the Super Bowl halftime was a bit difficult for the NFL this time around. Many artists including Cardi B, who was featured on Maroon 5’s 2018 No.1 hit “Girls Like You,” Jay-Z and Rihanna declined to perform at the event in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick. The former 49ers quarterback, Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem in 2016 to protest racially-charged police brutality.
Kaepernick’s protest stirred up controversy, which led to President Donald Trump condemning his protests, as well as anyone else who chose to kneel during the anthem. Since Kaepernick's national anthem protest during 2016, he hasn’t been signed by any football team in the league to play again.
The former 49ers quarterback claims to have been blackballed from playing in the NFL. Once news of Scott performing at the Super Bowl spread, many fans expressed disappointment in the “Sicko Mode” rapper for seemingly not standing with Kaepernick. According to Variety, Scott and Kaepernick spoke before news of Scott’s performance broke, reportedly not seeing eye-to-eye by the end of the conversation.
Penn State students weighed in on the national issue, which has gained a lot of traction on social media. “Travis Scott had an opportunity to take a stand against racial injustices in this country by not performing, but instead he chose to follow money and publicity and perform anyway,” Michelle Chin (senior - political science) said.
“I don’t really appreciate Travis Scott performing at the Super Bowl,” added Mark McNeil (sophomore-communications) said. “I thought all African-American artists were boycotting the NFL until Colin Kaepernick got the justice that he deserved. As an African-American artist, he should know better, so this is pretty low.”
However, Scott only agreed to perform if the NFL promised to donate $500,000 to the nonprofit social justice organization, Dream Corps, an organization that raises awareness to social and racial injustices like Kaepernick said his protests aimed to do. “Despite the controversy, Maroon 5 has a lot of hits songs as well as Travis Scott, so it'll probably be a good performance,” Lily Swartzell (junior-entrepreneurship) said. “It’s less upsetting to look at it that way.”
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