Cardi B has shot down rumours she’ll be performing at the Super Bowl halftime show this weekend, because it "wouldn’t feel right".
The 26-year-old rapper was hotly tipped to be joining Maroon 5 on stage at the annual sporting event to perform their hit song ‘Girls Like You’, but Cardi has now confirmed she won’t be appearing, because she doesn’t want to associate with the NFL given current controversy surrounding the #TakeAKnee movement to protest racial inequality.
Cardi told ‘Entertainment Tonight’: "It wouldn’t be the perfect time. I stand on what I stand, you know what I’m saying? I stand on what I stand. I am doing other things, because, you know, they like to make money out of us. Why not make a little money out of them?
"I can’t push my limits. My soul wouldn’t feel right. But I know me and Maroon 5 have a lot of performances coming [up]. That song just means so much to me."
Her comments come after ‘Sugar’ hitmaker Adam Levine said he deliberated over the band’s decision to headline the event – which will also see rapper Big Boi and Travis Scott perform – and insisted people’s voices are heard through their performance.
He said: "No one thought about it more than I did. No one put more thought and love into this than I did … I spoke to many people, most importantly though, I silenced all the noise and listened to myself, and made my decision about how I felt.
"They will be [heard] – that’s all I want to say because I don’t want to spoil anything. And once again, I like to think that people know where I stand as a human being after two decades doing this. I’m not a speaker. I’m not a public speaker. I do speak, but it’s through the music. My life’s work and what I put out into the universe has been positive and hopefully inspiring … So, what I would say is, you know, we are going to do what we keep on doing, hopefully without becoming politicians and continuing to use the one voice we know how to use properly."