FCC Complaints

Rihanna’s Super Bowl Performance Draws Over 100 Complaints To FCC

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She’s weeks away from gracing the Academy Awards stage, but fans are still reeling from Rihanna’s Super Bowl performance. During her halftime show, she revealed her second pregnancy, just one year after welcoming her first child with A$AP Rocky. The doing dad was also in the audience filming his leading lady as she floated tens of feet above the air. The Super Bowl marked Rihanna’s return to the stage after a seven-year drought and was celebrated among her admirers.

Meanwhile, social media reactions were mixed. Fans applauded the singer’s feat and enjoyed revisiting her classics. However, TMZ reports the Federal Communications Commission, or the FCC, received several complaints about the display. Additionally, the outlet reportedly obtained 103 of those complaints and shared a few. One person directly correlated Sam Smith and Kim Petra’s highly controversial Grammy performance to Rihanna’s set.

The FCC Complaints Are Unhinged

GLENDALE, AZ – FEBRUARY 12: Rihanna performs at halftime during Super Bowl LVII between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, February 12th, 2023 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ. (Photo by Adam Bow/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

“I don’t care what someone worships but children shouldn’t be exposed to pornography and as an adult I don’t wish to see it,” one person reportedly said. “Where has decency gone? How about respect for others and self?” Many critics were off-out by the “overtly sexual dancing.” Considering Rihanna barely moved, and her dancers were trying to keep from falling off platforms, things could have been more explicit.

“This year the halftime show was so indecent I had to turn off the TV because of the pornographic content,” another person stated. These sorts of complaints aren’t anything new; each year, thousands of people fire off messages to the FCC about the Super Bowl halftime show. Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, and others have been the subject of similar takes after their presentations.

Just ahead of her halftime performance, Rihanna discussed how she was hyper-focused on Super Bowl. “I totally forgot that my birthday is coming up, I totally forgot about Valentine’s Day,” she admitted. “I am just like Super Bowl, Super Bowl, Super Bowl. It’s a lot of preparation, a lot of moving parts. This is the week that it really is being tested. Everyone, we’re just tightening up everything.

She also said, “Everybody is dialing in, everybody is tuning up, and a lot of moving parts. I mean, it’s literally like three to four hundred people breaking the stage down and building it back up and getting it out in eight minutes. It’s incredible.”

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Rihanna’s Super Bowl Performance Receives 103 FCC Complaints For Being “Overtly Sexual”

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According to a report from TMZ, the Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show performance featuring Roc Nation songstress Rihanna was hit with 103 Federal Communications Commission(FCC) complaints for being too sexual for football viewers.

According to the report, Super Bowl watchers littered the FCC’s email with complaints about Rihanna’s performance being “pornographic”, with the lyrics and dancing being suggestive in a sexual nature.

One person in particular compared RiRi’s set to Kim Petra and Sam Smith’s sultry performance at the 2023 Grammys, saying, “I don’t care what someone worships but children shouldn’t be exposed to pornography and as an adult I don’t wish to see it … Where has decency gone? How about respect for others and self.” Another person in Utah said, “This year the halftime show was so indecent I had to turn off the TV because of the pornographic content.”

The “Umbrella” singer was also criticized for spreading “her ass cheek at the crack. She rubbed her pants where her labia were three times.”

Rihanna’s comeback performance was a historic one as she revealed to the world she’s expecting her second child with rapper A$AP Rocky. She also reportedly earned over $350K in song royalties after the show due to a massive increase in streaming. According to a report from Apple Music, the day after the Sueor Bowl, Rihanna’s worldwide listeners on the streaming service jumped by a whopping 331%.

The post Rihanna’s Super Bowl Performance Receives 103 FCC Complaints For Being “Overtly Sexual” appeared first on The Source.

Rihanna’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Was Apparently Porn-Like, According To Some Of The 103 FFC Complaints It Received

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Like the passage of time and Pusha T dropping a Cocaine Bear remix, FCC (Federal Communications Commission) complaints about major TV events are an inevitability. So, it turns out that some people out there didn’t particularly care for Rihanna’s Super Bowl Halftime Show earlier this month, so much so that they let the FCC know about it (as TMZ reports).

The publication notes that of the 103 FCC complaints made about the Super Bowl broadcast on February 12, “almost all of them” were about Rihanna’s performance. One viewer wrote in their complaint, “This year the halftime show was so indecent I had to turn off the TV because of the pornographic content.” Another compared it to Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy” performance at the 2023 Grammys, writing, “I don’t care what someone worships but children shouldn’t be exposed to pornography and as an adult I don’t wish to see it. […] Where has decency gone? How about respect for others and self?”

Others made note of “overtly sexual dancing” in the performance, with one person saying Rihanna’s background dancers had moves that “were patently offensive and completely inappropriate for children.” Another person noted of Rihanna, “She spread her ass cheek at the crack. She rubbed her pants where her labia were three times.”

As TMZ notes, though, this is nothing to the infamous Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake wardrobe malfunction at the 2004 Super Bowl, which drew 540,000 complaints at the time.

Hip Hop’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Only Draws 33 FCC Complaints Less Than Past Shows

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The FCC says this year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show only brought in 33 complaints from viewers. This year’s historic performance saw Hip Hop icons Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent, and Eminem share the stage with R&B Queen Mary J. Blige.

The set kicked off with Dr. Dre sitting at an enormous mixing board before “The Next Episode” kicked off sending the stadium into an uproar.

One viewer criticized the “scantily clad female dancers who belong in a strip club not on national TV.”

Another Super Bowl LVI viewer called 50 Cent’s surprise set “trash” that included “slutty looking women dancing near stripper poles.”

READ MORE: Super Bowl LVI set to include deaf rappers for the 1st time during halftime.

However, the number of complaints was down drastically from the 2020 performance that featured Jennifer Lopez and Shakira. About 1300 viewers filed complaints following their performance at Super Bowl 54.

Yahoo News reports, more than 540,000 complaints were made to the FCC when Janet Jackson suffered an infamous “wardrobe malfunction” and her breast was exposed, leading to a $550,000 fine for CBS and MTV, which was eventually dismissed.

Numbers don’t lie. We’re all looking to see more diverse music displayed in the future. Share your thoughts on social media.

The post Hip Hop’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Only Draws 33 FCC Complaints Less Than Past Shows appeared first on The Source.

A Republican Congressman Complained About Cardi B On The Floor Of The House Of Representatives

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Cardi B often incorporates risqué elements into her music, videos, and performances, which rubs some observers the wrong way. Cardi seems to derive great enjoyment from that, though, like when she recently laughed off the 1,000-plus complaints the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) received regarding her and Megan Thee Stallion’s 2021 Grammys performance. The performance also bothered at least one high-profile politician in the House Of Representatives.

While speaking on the House floor this morning, Republican Representative Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin cited Cardi’s performance while criticizing the FCC and partially blaming them for “the moral decline of America.” He said, “I received complaints in my office, and rightfully so, about Cardi B and the Grammys. They wonder why we are paying the FCC if they feel that this should be in living rooms across the nation. I realize that Kamala Harris has used her fame to promote this performer, but I assure the FCC that millions of Americans would view her performance as inconsistent with basic decency. Wake up, FCC, and begin to do your job! The moral decline of America is partly due to your utter complacency.”

This news is still fresh, so Cardi has yet to respond to it, but based on her past reactions to this sort of criticism, it seems unlikely she will lose any sleep over it.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.