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Rihanna's Super Bowl performance received complaints for being too sexual

Home> Celebrity

Published 11:41 24 Feb 2023 GMT

Rihanna's Super Bowl performance received complaints for being too sexual

Not everyone was a fan of Rihanna's performance.

Ali Condon

Ali Condon

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Featured Image Credit: YouTube/NFL

Topics: Music, Celebrity

Ali Condon
Ali Condon

Ali is a journalist for LADbible Group, writing on all things film, music, and entertainment across Tyla, LADbible and UNILAD. You can contact Ali at [email protected].

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@alicondon

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Rihanna's Super Bowl halftime performance was nothing short of iconic, complete with floating stages, a Fenty Beauty cameo, and a pregnancy reveal.

But not everyone was a fan, it would seem.

The spectacular performance included a medley of Rihanna's biggest hits from 'Diamonds' and 'Rude Boy' to 'We Found Love', 'Umbrella', and 'Work'.

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RiRi had no surprise guests - bar her second baby - and still put on the performance of a lifetime.

Fans watching from home were obsessed with the show, and have already flooded the internet with memes, dance recreations and praise.

But some people really didn't like what they saw.

According to TMZ, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) received over 100 complaints about the Super Bowl broadcast, with most of them slamming the 13-minute performance for being too 'sexual'.

Given the fact that Rihanna was completely covered up in her banging red jumpsuit and her dancers were almost unidentifiable in their oversized puffy white tracksuits, that level of complaints might seem a little confusing.

Rihanna will be making some major money despite not being paid millions for appearing at the Super Bowl.
Sipa US / Alamy Stock Photo

Apparently, the issue that pearl-clutching viewers had with the performance was Rihanna's lyrics and choreo.

Documents seen by TMZ confirm that the FCC received 103 complaints about the Super Bowl broadcast, and almost ever single one had to do with RiRi's performance.

"This year the halftime show was so indecent I had to turn off the TV because of the pornographic content," read one complaint.

Another horrified viewer argued that the dance moves 'were patently offensive and completely inappropriate for children'.

If you're looking for specifics, one Florida native was upset that Rihanna 'spread her a** cheek at the crack' and 'rubbed her pants where her labia were three times'.

An upset Kentucky viewer noted: "I have to wonder how all the dancing sperm characters got past censors to be aired?"

According to NBC reporter Noah Pransky, the majority of complaints came from Texas, California, Michigan, Florida, New York, and Virginia.

People think Rihanna's performance was too 'sexual'.
ESPN

It looks like Rihanna's creative team aren't taking the complaints too seriously, thankfully.

Choreographer Parris Goebel shared the news of the 100 FCC complaints to her Instagram Story, joking: "Damn only 100?"

Rihanna isn't the first to receive a bucket of FCC complaints for her Super Bowl halftime show.

Last year, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J Blige, Eminem, 50 Cent and Kendrick Lamar's performance got 33 complaints, and in 2020, Shakira and Jennifer Lopez's gig earned more than 1,300.

But Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake's infamous 2004 show takes the cake.

Remember that shocking wardrobe malfunction? That wound up raking in a whopping 540,000 complaints. Yeesh!

You just can't win, can you?

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