Following months of silence, Adam Levine has finally addressed Maroon 5‘s controversial decision to play the Super Bowl LIII halftime show this Sunday (Feb. 3).
The Moves Like Jagger group have been a target of online criticism since they were rumoured to headline the annual event back in September.
The NFL is taking the brunt of the heat, however, after locking out former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick from the league.
The 31-year-old chose to kneel during the national anthem on a number of occasions, merely as an act of protest against racial profiling, inequity and police brutality.
A number of musicians, including Rihanna and Cardi B chose to stand with Kaepernick as a response to the NFL — both rejected offers to perform this year.
Levine, 39, dubbed it “the biggest gig in the game” to Entertainment Tonight in an interview on Thursday.
“I’m not in the right profession if I can’t handle a little bit of controversy,” he said. “It is what it is. We expected it and we’d like to move on from it.”
READ MORE: Maroon 5 cancels Super Bowl halftime press conference
In regards to the heaps of backlash, Levine admitted that he chose to “silence all the noise,” listen to himself and make his decision based on how he felt afterwards. “No one thought about it harder than I did,” he added, admitting it was not an easy decision.
The Payphone singer said the decision to play the Super Bowl essentially came down to just wanting to play music.
“The spectacle is music,” he said. “The way that we speak, emote and perform is through the music.”
When asked why Maroon 5 chose to cancel their pre-game press conference, Levine revealed that it was the NFL’s decision. “The NFL cancelled the press conference, you’ll have to speak with them,” he told ET reporter Kevin Frazier with a smile.
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The frontman wasn’t afraid to include his own personal input either:
“I think that when you look back at every single halftime show, people just [have] this insatiable urge to hate a little bit.”
“No one put more thought and love into this than I did,” Levine concluded.
READ MORE: Super Bowl petition asks Maroon 5, other halftime performers to take a knee
Astroworld rapper Travis Scott and Outkast’s Big Boi were further announced as performers set to join Maroon 5 onstage this Sunday.
Because of the NFL’s actions against Kaepernick, an online petition was launched late last year by North Carolina resident, Vic Oyedeji. The petition pleaded Maroon 5 to reject the offer to play the 53rd annual halftime show.
The change.org petition pulled in more than 85,000 signatures across the globe.
It’s been widely speculated that the NFL cancelled the pre-show press conference to avoid any mention of sensitive subject matter and the surrounding controversy.
READ MORE: Maroon 5 set to play Super Bowl halftime show, and football fans aren’t too pleased
Oyedeji demanded that the musicians “take a knee” during their performance, citing that it’s the only way “they can truly redeem” themselves.
“Show the millions of people watching that you stand in solidarity with Kaepernick and all players who protest police brutality,” Oyedeji wrote.
Former Pink Floyd frontman and social activist Roger Waters, also reached out to the Maroon 5 camp on Thursday. He included a video of himself kneeling with the rest of his band rather than bowing after a performance in Hartford, Conn., in late 2017.
“My colleagues Maroon 5, Travis Scott and Big Boi are performing during the halftime show at the Super-bowl this coming Sunday,” he added. “I call upon them to take a knee on stage in full sight. I call upon them to do it in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick.”
“The [NFL’s] message was clear, ‘Shut your mouth, boy!'”
In essence, Waters, 75, offered this year’s halftime show performers an ultimatum:
“You are faced with a choice. I’m not saying it will be easy. All the President’s men, the huffers and puffers, will be royally p**sed off, but f**k ’em.”
“I call upon you to do it because it’s the right thing to do and because somewhere inside you know it,” Waters concluded.
READ MORE: How the NFL blew it with the Super Bowl halftime show: Alan Cross
The New England Patriots take on the Los Angeles Rams in Atlanta, Ga., at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium this Sunday.
Super Bowl LIII will air live on Feb. 3 at 6:30 p.m. ET.
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