The 'What About Us' hitmaker says her support for Colin Kaepernick was one of the reasons why she rejected an offer to perform at the 2018 halftime show.
- November 2, 2019
AceShowbiz - Pink has explained her reasons for turning down the chance to headline the Super Bowl Halftime Show, admitting she would probably "get carried out" if she did the gig the way she wanted.
The 40-year-old singer was offered the chance to perform at the 2019 Halftime Show, after earlier wowing National Football League (NFL) bosses when she performed the National Anthem at the Super Bowl in February 2018.
However, Pink declined, and Maroon 5 eventually took her place.
Explaining her reasons for the decision during an interview with Billboard magazine, Pink said it was double-sided.
"Everybody that does it gets so persecuted," she said of the reaction on social media to past Halftime Show performers. As well as that, Pink was among the many celebrities left unimpressed with the NFL's treatment of former quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Kaepernick was blacklisted by the sport's officials for kneeling during the National Anthem before games to protest police brutality towards African Americans. The stance, which became known as "taking a knee," was adopted by several players on the sidelines before games, and Pink told Billboard that she would probably have angered the NFL by supporting Kaepernick had she headlined the 2019 show.
"I'd probably take a knee and get carried out," she said.
As for who she'd like to see headlining the slot, Pink mused: "They should give it to Janet Jackson. That's who should be doing the Super Bowl. There's rumblings around J.Lo, Rihanna - they all deserve it. They should only give it, because of the controversy, to African-American or Latina women for a while."
Just days after Billboard conducted their interview with Pink, the NFL announced Jennifer Lopez and Shakira as the headliners for the 2020 Super Bowl Halftime Show.
