Cardi B has revealed that she struggled with her decision to turn down performing at the Super Bowl to back Colin Kaepernick.
On Friday, the rapper told the Associated Press that she had “mixed feelings” about turning down the opportunity, partially because Offset loves football. However, she felt it was necessary to “stand behind” Kaepernick because he “stood up” for minorities.
“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 said.
"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.”
Kaepernick turned the spotlight on the NFL by kneeling during the national anthem to bring awareness to police brutality and racial inequality.
Maroon 5, Big Boi, and Travis Scott are set to perform during halftime at Super Bowl LIII on Sunday. Gladys Knight will also sing the national anthem.
Though Cardi isn’t taking the big stage, she will perform at a concert on Saturday and star in a Super Bowl commercial. She's received criticism for her choice to participate in Super Bowl-related events, but believes she can still take part in the weekend without directly supporting the NFL.
“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.”
