Rihanna Unaware Of Jay-Z's NFL Deal When Making Super Bowl "Sell Out" Comments

BYAron A.6.8K Views
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Singer Rihanna (L) and Jay-Z in the audience during the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards held at Staples Center on January 31, 2010 in Los Angeles, California.
Sources close to RihRih are trying to clear the air from potential drama.

Jay-Z's move to work with the NFL has drawn a lot of criticism, including from people who once praised him. Although Hov and the NFL are working on entertainment and social causes together, many have pointed out that it seems far too self-serving. Jay's also been accused of essentially turning his back on Colin Kaepernick, although Jay's refuted that claim in the past.

Hov's own protege, Rihanna, recently confirmed that she turned down the Super Bowl last year based on principle. She said that if she would've felt like a sell-out if she had taken the opportunity, especially after the amount of public support she shared for Colin Kaepernick. “I couldn’t dare do that,” she said in a recent story with Vogue. “For what? Who gains from that? Not my people," she concluded.

However, the statements she made came days before Jay-Z announced that he'd be partnering with the NFL, according to The Blast. Sources close to Rihanna clarified that those comments were made without any knowledge of Jay-Z's dealing with the organization. They said she had "no idea" negotiations were even happening in the first place.

Rihanna is still signed to Jay-Z's Roc Nation so it seems very doubtful that she'd make that statement with any reason to shade Hov. However, one's got to wonder whether she and Jay-Z ever spoke about it behind closed doors. 

 


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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