Rihanna’s Super Bowl halftime show was bad and that’s okay

Rihanna was pregnant, but does that make it okay?

Though it was fairly obvious as she was performing, Rihanna confirmed/revealed at the end of the show that she was pregnant again. We’d learn fun facts like how she had to do rehearsals in oversized clothes to hide her pregnancy. And this explains the low energy of the show — she could not do as many physical stunts as she would have if not for the pregnancy.

But while this may explain the poor energy of the show, it does not excuse the poor energy of the show. Well, maybe not.

If you are physically incapable of carrying a halftime show to the usual standard, do something about it. Though she did have a distinct baby bump during the halftime show this year, it’s unclear whether or not she knew about the pregnancy when she accepted the invitation to perform. And here’s where you may see a viable excuse.

This is entirely speculation and a made-up theory by me, but it’s possible that Rihanna had a very physically demanding show planned before discovering her pregnancy. Upon this realization, they likely had to tone back the show and didn’t have time to plan around this, leading to a relatively boring one. Still, this is just a theory.

It still feels like more could have been done to make this show more entertaining.

We’ve seen plenty of non-strenuous physical stunts in the past, such as Katy Perry’s aforementioned entrance on a giant golden mechanical lion. We’ve seen performances with entertaining extras and background dancers, such as the Black Eyed Peas. When certain performers can’t carry the show for one reason or another, there are things that can be done to remedy this.

Rihanna did not do any of these things. In fact, she didn’t choose to include the most important thing — musical guests.