Rihanna, Feb. 12, 2023, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Rihanna’s Super Bowl halftime spectacular on Feb. 12 drew all kinds of reactions. Some loved the 13-minute performance, complete with a multitude of dancers. Some complained that Rhianna’s performance was low-energy. It even caused viewer complaints to the Federal Communications Commission. But the color of her outfit–-red–-seems to have sparked a rumor that the show had a satanic theme. The pregnant singer was accused of demon worship during her Super Bowl Halftime show.
The Barbadian entrepreneur/singer performed a medley of her hits, including “We Found Love,” “‘Diamonds,” “Rude Boy,” “Umbrella,” and “Work,” among others. It was her first live gig in over five years.
But several media outlets said the red outfit was a shout-out to disgraced hip-hop mogul Kanye West, with whom she has collaborated. Rihanna, 34, included the West song “All of the Lights,” on which she is featured. There had been reports she was asked to pull the song from her lineup. The track is from West’s 2010 album, “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.”
But the red outfit some speculated was a nod to the all-red outfit West wore at his listening party for the “Donda” album in 2021.
Some even said Rihanna’s Super Bowl stage setup was “reminiscent of Ye’s Saint Pablo Tour,” The U.S. Sun reported.
Kanye West was “canceled”’ by Hollywood ” late last year after his comments about the Jewish community.
“Rihanna is still great friends with Ye, and so is [ASAP] Rocky,” a source exclusively told The U.S. Sun following the performance in Arizona. “She doesn’t care if people are offended by her paying tribute to him at the Super Bowl.
And, at the end of her set, the nine-time Grammy Award winner donned a oversized parka coat, which many said was a tribute to her late friend, fashion icon André Leon Talley.
The singer seemed to be making an unconfirmed nod to Talley’s giant red sleeping bag coat made famous by designer Norma Kamali. The former Vogue editor died Jan. 18, 2022, at the age of 73. and had a well-reported kinship with Rihanna.
Talley’s red coat was auctioned off at Christie’s as part of the sale of his estate. Part of the proceeds will benefit Talley’s childhood church, the News Observer reported.
“The red puffer coat worn by Rihanna during the Super Bowl Halftime Show is said to have been a tribute to the late NCCU alumnus and fashion icon André Leon Talley,” North Carolina Central University, where Talley went to school wrote in a Facebook post. “The two were said to have been close and that donning the coat was her way of paying homage.”
The FCC complaints said the lyrics and performance was overly sexy, even though many critics panned her performance for her lack of dancing. The FCC, a government agency, regulates television content.
TMZ obtained the 103 complaints made to the FCC about Rihanna’s performance.
Most of the complaints was directed at the background dancers, who some charged made gestures that “were patently offensive and completely inappropriate for children.”
But one complaint said that Rihanna “spread her a** cheek at the crack. She rubbed her pants where her labia were three times,” TMZ reported.
Rihanna performs during the halftime show at the NFL Super Bowl 57 football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
