Rihanna got a mixed reaction to her Super Bowl halftime show, but at least one viewer
tuned in determined to hate it: Former President Donald Trump. The two have a surprisingly long
history of taking public shots at one another, and the trend continued at Super Bowl LVII.
Rihanna's Super Bowl halftime show was her first live performance since 2017,
so fans were understandably anticipating it with great excitement. The "Desperado"
singer first confirmed she would be headlining the show in September 2022,
sharing an Instagram photo of herself holding a football.
Rihanna welcomed her first child with boyfriend A$AP Rocky in May 2022, and motherhood seemed to
inspire her to take on the Super Bowl gig. She told ET in November 2022 that while motherhood
could have made her complacent, she's never been one to shy away from a challenge.
"Challenging myself to do something
that I've never done before in my career? I have to live up to that challenge."
Outside of being a test of her own abilities,
Rihanna hoped that her performance could inspire people, including her son. She spoke
about the topic during a press conference for Apple Music, the halftime show's top sponsor.
"It's important for me to do this this year. It's
important for representation. It's important for my son to see that."
The singer added that it was an honor for her to be doing the halftime show.
But not everyone was happy with her being the Super Bowl's centerpiece performer.
Taking to his Truth Social platform on February 9, three days before the Super Bowl,
former U.S. President Donald Trump took a jab at Rihanna. He wrote,
"Without her 'Stylist,' she'd be NOTHING. Bad everything, and NO TALENT!"
Trump's comments came in response to a Truth Social post from Ronny Jackson,
Trump's former White House physician, who is now a congressman. Jackson called out
the singer for posing in front of a car in 2020 that had been spray
painted with an obscene message about Donald Trump. Jackson added,
"She's made a career of spewing degenerate filth while badmouthing America every chance
she gets. Why is the NFL showcasing this crap? Rihanna SHOULD NOT be the halftime performer!!"
Though she didn't get political in her Super Bowl halftime performance, Rihanna did make
waves with the on-stage confirmation of her second pregnancy. Trump wasted no time jumping
on the hate train with some other viewers who were disappointed in the show, writing on Truth Social,
"Rihanna gave, without question, the single worst Halftime Show in Super Bowl history."
He cited, quote, "foul and insulting language" as his main reason for disliking the show. He added,
referring back to his February 9 post,
"So much for her 'Stylist!'"
Rihanna hasn't responded to Trump or Jackson, and probably won't. But the singer has,
on multiple occasions, made it known she is no fan of Trump's either. After it was revealed
Rihanna's hit 2007 song "Don't Stop the Music," was played at one of Trump's rallies in 2018,
when he was still president, the Barbadian singer wasted no time expressing her displeasure. She
tweeted that she'd make sure the song wouldn't be heard at many more, writing,
"Not for much longer. Me nor my people would ever be at or around one of those tragic rallies."
Forbes reports that Rihanna even took Trump to court over the use of "Don't Stop The
Music" at his rallies. A cease-and-desist order filed in November 2018, states that,
given that the singer never consented to Trump's use of her music, his doing so creates a "false
impression" that Rihanna is somehow associated with Trump and his politics. Rihanna also called
Trump a, quote, "immoral pig" for championing anti-immigration laws during his presidency.
While Rihanna may not have addressed Donald Trump's most recent tirade against her,
the "Lift Me Up" singer has fired off her share of criticisms against the former president. In
August 2019, after Trump called the mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas,
"an act of cowardice," Rihanna blasted him in an Instagram post, writing,
"Um... Donald, you spelt 'terrorism' wrong!"
Two months later, speaking to Vogue, Rihanna called Trump "the most mentally ill human
being in America right now." Once again addressing Trump's handling of mass shootings, Rihanna said,
"People are being murdered by war weapons that they legally purchase."
She added that she considered it "a slap in the
face" when Trump brushed off gun violence as something less serious.