Super Bowl Halftime Show: Akon Has Surprising Stance on Controversy

Akon has a unique take on the many artists who have turned down the Super Bowl halftime show, feeling that it will have the intended effect.

Many performers — particularly African-American musicians — have turned down offers to play the halftime show at Super Bowl LIII this weekend out of solidarity with Colin Kaepernick. Akon, who has expressed interest in running for president in 2020, feels that passing on the performance is asking too much of artists. He explained his position to a TMZ reporter as he arrived in Atlanta for the game this weekend.

“I think, honestly, that’s stupid, and I’m going to be as frank as possible,” he said while waiting outside of the airport. “You’re in this business for two reasons: one is to make an impact, and two is for the business of it. Now, if you’re a philanthropist, and you feel like that’s something you believe in, and you’re fighting for it, you have every right.”

“But, if you’re doing it, and you look at it as a way of expanding who you are as an artist and as a business, you also have every right. So, I don’t think there’s a right or a wrong answer for that.”

Akon went on to suggest that there was no end to racial disparity in sight, and that abstaining from the Super Bowl was a step in the wrong direction, forcing people further apart.

“I just think sometimes, people take social issues and make it a lot [more] serious than it has to be,” he said. “At the end of the day, we’ve all got to live in this world together. There’s always going to be somebody that feels that they’re being treated unfairly, there’s always going to be an imbalanced situation, but as people we have to compromise certain situations to get to a better place.”

Asked outright if he thought that Kaepernick’s protests were being “blown out of proportion,” Akon answered with an emphatic “yes.”

“Why wouldn’t a black artist want to not perform in one of the biggest events in the world?” he asked. “That don’t help us! We need you to be on that stage!”

Many artists, including Rihanna, Cardi B and Jay-Z reportedly turned down offers to perform at the Super Bowl, while Travis Scott, Big Boi and Maroon 5 agreed to take the stage. Many are hoping to see some acknowledgement of Kaepernick in their performance, such as a kneeling posture.

Akon gave no update on his consideration of a presidential bid in 2020, which he discussed in an interview with Newsweek back in November. While he may have a controversial view of the NFL protests, Akon is a proven philanthropist in his own right, with his solar panel initiative Akon Lighting Africa bringing electricity to hundreds of under-served communities. He is also using his own cryptocurrency called Akoin to build up a wealthy tourist city near Senegal, where he spent much of his youth.