This year’s Super Bowl halftime show has really taken on a hefty symbolic weight, and an alleged détente between blackballed quarterback Colin Kaepernick and Travis Scott, who has agreed to participate in the show, is apparently based on bad intel. A source “close to Scott†recently told Variety that the rapper and Kaepernick talked through Scott’s decision to perform, and that, “while the two did not necessarily agree, they emerged from the conversation with mutual respect and understanding.†Kaep’s girlfriend, however, says that’s a fiction, and posted a tweet today saying that people need to stop lying.
And Ebro, a close Kaepernick confidant, tweeted with similar sentiments.
When he announced his decision to perform, Scott also said he and the NFL would be donating $500,000 to the social-justice nonprofit Dream Corps. “I know being an artist that it’s in my power to inspire. So before confirming the Super Bowl Halftime performance, I made sure to partner with the NFL on this important donation,†said the rapper at the time. “I am proud to support Dream Corps and the work they do that will hopefully inspire and promote change.†He and Maroon 5, the first act to accept the job, have taken a fair amount of heat for working with the NFL after the league’s treatment of Kaepernick and other players choosing to protest. Rihanna, who is said to have been the first choice for the headlining spot, reportedly turned down the offer because of how the league has handled the national-anthem protests, and Jay-Z made a show of saying he’d turn down the Super Bowl on the song “Apeshit.†He even reportedly tried to convince Scott to not take the gig. Big Boi was also added to the halftime-show lineup this week, though we don’t know yet if anyone tried to talk him out of it.