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Hip hop star Travis Scott angered many with his decision to perform at the upcoming Super Bowl LIII halftime show.
The criticism was based on the NFL’s treatment of Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers star who drew both cheers and jeers for his practice of “taking a knee” to protest racial injustice during the national anthem at games.
On Tuesday, reports emerged that the rapper and the free-agent quarterback talked on the phone before Scott decided to agree to the Super Bowl gig, according to Variety.
“A source close to Scott said that while the two did not necessarily agree, they emerged from the conversation with mutual respect and understanding, with the rapper taking the stance that everyone makes a statement in their own way and he felt that the money going toward (nonprofit social-justice organization) Dream Corps, combined with the platform provided by the Super Bowl, will do some good. The source also said that Scott would not confirm his performance until the donation was locked in,” Variety reports.
Dream Corps was founded by CNN commentator Van Jones in 2014. Its mission is “to help cutting-edge initiatives grow big enough to impact millions of lives. Our slogan is ‘21st-century jobs, not jails.’ We support economic, environmental and criminal justice innovators — all under one roof. Our shared platform helps leaders create synergies, leapfrog obstacles and maximize impact. Every day, we are reshaping “what’s possible” in the field of social justice,” according to Variety.
But hold everything: Wednesday morning, TMZ and Bleacher Report reported that Kaepernick has denied talk to Scott about the matter.
Reports said Kaepernick’s friend Ebro Darden — a radio host at New York’s HOT 97 — tweeted, “Kap did not approve this (expletive)! Get the (expletive) outta here.”
Kaepernick later reportedly re-tweeted Darden’s post.
