Headlining the Super Bowl Halftime Show is one of the most coveted opportunities in the world of entertainment but not every artist sees it this way. Here are three artists who have turned down the opportunity to perform at the Super Bowl. In a 2020 interview with The New York Times, Jay-Z said he turned down the opportunity as he wanted control over who could perform with him. The rapper was specifically asked to perform his song Run This Town with Kanye West and Rihanna so he declined as it “was a principle thing”. In 2019 Pink told Billboard that she turned down the opportunity as “everybody that does it gets so persecuted”. The singer felt strongly about the NFL’s treatment of Kaepernick and said if she performed she would “probably take a knee and get carried out”. Cardi B also turned down the Super Bowl performance because of Kaepernick. She told the Associated Press in 2019 that “there's a man who sacrificed his job for us, so we got to stand behind him”.
