Super Bowl Halftime Performer Defends Decision Despite Backlash from Kaepernick Supporters
Amid the super-sized fuss over his band accepting an invitation to perform at this year’s Super Bowl, singer Adam Levine of Maroon 5 said the decision to perform was not made lightly.
“No one thought about it more than I did,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “No one put more thought and love into this than I did. … I spoke to many people, most importantly though, I silenced all the noise and listened to myself, and made my decision about how I felt.”
Not everyone agreed. In fact, more than 100,000 people have signed a Change,org petition calling for Maroon 5 to break its commitment and not play the show after all.
Comedian Amy Schumer has been calling for the band to reject the gig.
“I wonder why more white players aren’t kneeling,” she posted on Instagram last fall. “Once you witness the truly deep inequality and endless racism people of color face in our country, not to mention the police brutality and murders. Why not kneel next to your brothers? Otherwise how are you not complicit?
“I think it would be cool if @maroon5 backed out of super bowl like @badgalriri Did. I personally told my reps I wouldn’t do a Super Bowl commercial this year,” she posted.
What’s the fuss? It all goes back to Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who launched the national anthem protests that swept the NFL during his last year with the team. No team has since signed Kaepernick, angering those who insist this is collusion on the part of owners who see Kaepernick as a malcontent.
Maroon 5 is now being told that skipping the concert would be a great way to get back at the owners.
Keyboardist PJ Morton did not see it that way.
“I think there are plenty of people — a lot of the players, to be honest — who support Kap and also do their job for the NFL,” Morton said, according to People.
“I think we’re doing the same thing. We can support being against police brutality against black and brown people and be in support of being able to peacefully protest and still do our jobs. We just want to have a good time and entertain people while understanding the important issues that are at hand,” he said.
He said the band has been focused on the music more than anything else.
“You can get bogged down by those things, we’re not focusing on the negative now (while) being aware, being open, and definitely not ignoring the voices,” he says. “But we’re definitely not focusing on the things that don’t help, that are counter-productive. We’re blocking out the noise. We’re just doing what we do. We look to have a good time.”
Levine said the band is not ignoring the voices raised in protest.
He said those voices will be heard but “that’s all I want to say.”
“And once again, I like to think that people know where I stand as a human being after two decades doing this. I’m not a speaker. I’m not a public speaker. I do speak, but it’s through the music. My life’s work and what I put out into the universe has been positive and hopefully inspiring … So, what I would say is, you know, we are going to do what we keep on doing, hopefully without becoming politicians and continuing to use the one voice we know how to use properly,” he said.
Levine said the Kaepernick controversy was on the minds of the band members as they prepared for the Sunday show.
“I think we wanted to make sure we were able to speak once again through the music, so yes, absolutely, once we processed these things, it took a lot of looking inward and introspection and I thought to myself, ‘What is my greatest tool, you know, what is the thing that I can use to express myself … the best way for the band to express themselves, and how are we going to do it this year? What do we owe ourselves, what do we owe the people?'” he said. “And that is what we did, and I am beyond proud of the finished product, and literally never, never been more excited in my entire life to present this to the people because I believe that it’s truly a reflection of all of us.”
Levine also noted that every Super Bowl show raises hackles.
“You know, I think when you look back on every Super Bowl halftime show, it is this insatiable urge to hate a little bit,” he said. “I am not in the right profession if I can’t handle a bit of controversy. It is what it is. We would like to move on from it and speak through the music.”
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