Colin Kaepernick Supporters Call On Harry Styles To Reconsider Super Bowl Performance, As #HarryBackOut Trends

Supporters of Colin Kaepernick are taking to social media to call on singer Harry Styles to reconsider his Super Bowl performance.

On Thursday, Pepsi announced that the British singer will be headlining its Pepsi Zero Sugar Super Bowl party, which takes place on the Friday before the big game. The event is one of many in the days leading up to the Super Bowl, and for Pepsi, it also serves as a marketing event as it launches new branding for its sugar-free variety of soda.

As Billboard reported, Styles released a statement saying he was looking forward to the gig.

“I’m excited to be playing the Pepsi Super Bowl party this year. I hear they’re amazing and I’m looking forward to it. See you in Miami,” Styles said.

But many of Harry’s fans — and especially many supporters of now-former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick — were not pleased with the news. The hashtag “HarryBackOut” shot to the top of Twitter trends late on Thursday as many called on the singer not to support the NFL. A number of other artists have expressed solidarity with Kaepernick, whose supporters say was blackballed from the league after taking a knee during the national anthem to protest police brutality against minorities.

Many tried to appeal directly to Styles, asking that he not support both the NFL and Pepsi. The soft drink company was accused of racial insensitivity after 2017 advertisement that borrowed imagery from Black Lives Matter and appeared to suggested that the drink could ease racial tensions between police and protesters.

Others called on Styles to donate the money he will be making from the performance to a cause that aligns with Kapernick’s activism.

Others artists have reportedly rebuffed the chance to perform at the Super Bowl in solidarity with Kaepernick and the other players who joined his protest. As Us Weekly reported in 2018, that included Rihanna, who was seen as the frontrunner to land the Super Bowl 2019 halftime show, but made it clear that she would not perform.

“Rihanna was the front-runner for next year’s Super Bowl halftime show,” a source told the outlet. “CBS and the NFL reached out to Rihanna first, who after thinking about the offer, decided to pass due to the NFL and the situation regarding players kneeling.”

There was no indication that Harry Styles intended to back out of his Super Bowl week performance. As the hashtag was rising to the top of Twitter, the singer was promoting the show on social media.