Petition Urging Maroon 5 To Drop Out Of Super Bowl LIII Halftime Show Reaches Almost 45,000 Signatures

A Change.org petition urging pop-rock band Maroon 5 to drop out as the headline performers in the Super Bowl in February has garnered nearly 45,000 signatures as of Sunday night.

Maroon 5 were rumored to have accepted the offer after Rihanna turned it down, saying she refused to participate in any major NFL events given the league’s blackballing of free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Rihanna recently said she supports Kaepernick, who was famously shunned from the NFL after he started kneeling for the national anthem in August 2016 to protest racial injustice and police brutality.

“Until the league changes their policy and support players’ constitutional right to protest, no artists should agree to work with the NFL,” the petition reads.

Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, 39, appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Friday, did not explicitly say whether his band would be performing in Super Bowl LIII.

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“It’s a rumor. I can neither confirm or deny the truth of this rumor. It’s definitely a rumor… And the rumor seems to be a rumor that everyone seems to be discussing,” said Levine.

He continued: “It’s the Super Bowl. It’s a great event and there’s gonna be a band performing — or an artist of some kind — at halftime. And it’s gonna be great, regardless of who it is.”

Some celebrities, like Amy Schumer, have also said they are refusing to appear in Super Bowl commercials this year in solidarity with Kaepernick.

Maroon 5 are currently on tour to promote their latest album Red Pill Blues, which was released in November 2017. The record features popular hits like “What Lovers Do,” “Wait” and “Girls Like You,” a collaboration with rapper Cardi B.