Leading Latina – pop singers Jennifer Lopez and Shakira will be teaming up to perform at the coveted Super Bowl Pepsi Halftime show in 2020.
They both tweeted a pic of themselves with jewelry displaying the Pepsi logo and rings that read the date of Super Bowl LIV. In a press release Pepsi said that they had been working behind the scenes with the NFL and the entertainment company Roc Nation to book the two women for the Feb. 2 performance in Miami. Both the stars remarked in the press release from Pepsi that performing at the halftime show is an honor. More than 98 million people watched the 2019 Super Bowl. It was performed by Maroon 5.
Even though Super Bowl halftime show is a most coveted performance platform for artists, many black and Latin musicians have reportedly turned down the headlining spot in recent years. Rihanna, Jay Z and Cardi B were some amongst those artists who refused the job last year with former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who went unsigned in the years after he knelt during the national anthem in 2016.
Along with several other players, Kaepernick, knelt in an effort to protest police brutality and racial inequality. Many other celebrities’ have stood by Kaepernick, who settled a grievance against the NFL when he claimed owners colluded to keep him from playing. Director Ava DuVernay announced she was boycotting the Super Bowl for what she described as the NFL’s “racist treatment” towards Kaepernick.
Jay-Z’s entertainment and sports representation company Roc Nation signed a deal with the NFL to consult on entertainment events and social change efforts through its Inspire Change initiative in August. It is a part of a deal struck between the NFL and a coalition of players who kneeled in which the league said it would dedicate $89 million over six years toward causes players were supporting.
