If actor Tom Holland joins Rihanna on stage for the Super Bowl halftime show, it will be hard to call it a “surprise.” Since Rihanna was announced as the headline performer for this year’s Super Bowl, social media commenters have been calling for Holland to join her. Now that the day is finally here, the speculation is firing back up.
Rihanna will headline the halftime show at Super Bowl LVII, and that alone is a big deal for music fans. Rihanna has been on hiatus from her music career for about seven years now, with no new music, no major tours and few live performances. However, in her absence, there have been some notable cover performances โ particularly Holland’s 2017 turn on Lip Sync Battle. The actor dressed in drag for an uproarious performance of “Umbrella,” with meticulous choreography and set dressings.
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In the years since then, Holland’s performance has remained a viral sensation, popping up from time to time on various social media platforms and generally staying relevant for much longer than Lip Sync Battle itself. Now that Rihanna is returning to the stage, it’s no surprise that many fans hope she will bring Holland with her and acknowledge this hilarious addition to her legacy.
“I’ll only be watching the Super Bowl to see if Tom Holland performs with Rihanna during the halftime show,” one person proclaimed on twitter. Another added: “waiting for tonight’s performance of tom holland at the super bowl,” while a third wrote: “What do we need to do to have Tom Holland be one of Rihanna’s backup dancers when she sings Umbrella at the Super Bowl halftime show? I would watch the game for that.”
As hopeful as fans are, so far there’s no hint that they’re onto something. A few hoax reports have claimed that Holland was spotted arriving in Phoenix before the Super Bowl, but those did not come from reputable sources. Rihanna herself has not hinted about this cameo, nor have any of the event organizers or Holland.
Rihanna has lost time to make up for after years away from the music industry, and many fans expect her to start on Sunday. The singer has been promising a new album for years now, and fans hope she will announce it at the Super Bowl with the whole country watching. For some, the addition of a cameo from another celebrity like Holland would likely be an unwelcome interruption, not a delightful one.
The Super Bowl begins live at 6:30 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+. There’s no telling when the halftime show will air, as it will depend on the course of the game.