Metro Voice News Celebrating Faith, Family & Community
Super Bowl halftime shows have come a long way since they featured college marching bands – and not always in a good way. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council and former congressman from Louisiana, signed onto a letter asking organizers to honor Louisiana’s community values during Sunday’s game in New Orleans.
A group of 17 Republican Louisiana legislators sent the letter to leaders of the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation and the Louisiana Stadium and Expo District, pushing for a more family-friendly Super Bowl halftime show. It slammed previous performances from Rihanna and Jennifer Lopez as “lewd” and “offensive”. The letter argues that taxpayers should have a say, because the state government contributes money to the event.
Past shows from Lopez (2020), Rihanna (2023) and Janet Jackson (2004) are cited as examples of “past vulgar performances” that “may have been acceptable to the residents of those states where those Super Bowls were held but, in Louisiana, these lewd acts are inappropriate for viewing by children, objectify women and are simply NOT welcomed by the majority of Louisiana parents.”
But it’s not just the vulgarity being called out. Social media response to some of the shows has included criticism over satanic-related imagery, clothing, and symbols. Writing of the 2023 Rihanna performance, Conservative author Brigitte Gabriel said it had become recurring trend amongst musicians after Sam Smith’s performance at the Grammys. “Why do all the major live performances by woke artists have a demonic feeling?” The founder of ACT! for America wrote. “Sam Smith, now Rihanna, Hollyweird has gone insane.”
Another poster stated replied to Gabriel’s view. Sue Felago posted to X, “It’s just absolute perfect opportunity to showcase their creepy heathen Woke religion.”
It’s not known if this year’s performances will elicit the same response, but the Perkins letter elaborated on these performances.
“While certainly a large amount of support exists among many Louisianians who are excited about the Super Bowl coming back to New Orleans, many are also hardworking taxpayers with children who have serious concerns about the fact that past Super Bowl halftime performances have been less than family friendly,” it said. “Who can forget the infamous 2004 halftime show with Janet Jackson disrobing? Jackson’s exposed bare breast was excused by one of her fellow performers as a ‘wardrobe malfunction,’ but it initially generated a fine against CBS from the FCC for more than $500,000. Had that 2004 performance taken place in Louisiana and been proven to be intentional, it would have violated Louisiana’s obscenity law, which prohibits such public exposure.”
Perkins commented on the letter:
“Hopefully, this year’s Super Bowl halftime show will not be out of bounds for the hundreds of thousands of families that will be watching,” he said. “But it is not only about protecting children, important as that is, but also upholding community standards. The Super Bowl organizers need to abide by the community standards that the citizens of Louisiana have adopted.”
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice
