Why Rihanna Wasn’t Paid For Her Incredible Performance At Super Bowl Halftime Show

The “Man Down” singer Rihanna blew the minds of the millions of people in attendance at the 2023 Super Bowl show which took place on Sunday, February 12, with her tremendous performance.

Even, most of Rihanna’s viral moments from the Super Bowl show are still making rounds. For instance, when she was caught on camera touching up her makeup with her Fenty Beauty cosmetic and sealing it with the new “MVP” liquid lipstick which launched online during the halftime.

Rihanna also shocked the world when she made history by announcing to the world that she’s a soon-to-be mom of two. Rihanna’s pregnancy made her the first ever pregnant star to perform in the Super Bowl show.

However, despite all the wonders performed by Rihanna on Sunday, she wasn’t paid a dime for it.

Rihanna — Why Rihanna Wasn’t Paid For Her Performance

First of all, it’s worthy of note that, even though so many stars have had the honor of performing on the Super Bowl show, Rihanna was not singled out as the star who wouldn’t be paid for her performance. Actually, no, that’s not the case here at all.

Rihanna wasn’t paid because she did it for free. Same as every other artist that has ever performed on the grandest stage of them all. The thing is, there’s actually no pay attached to their performances.

Sometime in 2016, the spokesperson for NFL told Forbes, “We do not pay the artists, we cover expenses and production costs.”

The absence of payment doesn’t take away the benefits that come from performing at Super Bowl. Artists that perform at the Super Bowl always get large bookings starting the minute they’re done with their performance or, sometimes while still performing. They also stand the chance of increasing their social media followers.

Rihanna — The Dancers Still Get Paid

Although the artists don’t receive a dime for their performances, their professional backup dancers are always paid. Two years ago in 2021, SAG-AFTRA released a statement through the “Los Angeles Times” sharing that professional dancers should on no occasion, work for free.

The statement reads, “SAG-AFTRA and the producers of the Super Bowl Halftime Show have met and had an open and frank discussion, and have agreed that no professional dancers will be asked to work for free as part of the halftime show.”

“SAG-AFTRA will be advising our professional dancer members that they should not be rehearsing or working on the Super Bowl halftime show without compensation.”

Ireland Baldwin Flaunts Six-Month Baby Bump

View Story

The statement continued, “We are grateful to Roc Nation, their producer and in particular our member Jay-Z, for their collaboration and commitment to professional artists. As a union, we believe all working participants should be paid and compensated for their labor.”

Be sure to catch up on everything happening with Rihanna right now.  check back on our site for more celebrity news.

Editorial credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com