CBS pulled the plug on Rihannaafter she was booked to open tonight’s “Thursday Night Football,” between the Steelers and Ray Rice‘s ex-team, The Ravens.
The Umbrella singer was herself the victim of a beating at the hands of Chris Brown and the NFL did not want to draw any comparisons in the midst of the Rice scandal.
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Though CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus said, “We thought journalistically and from a tone standpoint, we needed to have the appropriate tone coverage,” we all know what this is really about.
The opening was suppose to feature Rihanna performing a version of her hit “Run This Town,” while Don Cheadle introduced the teams and dramatically asks who will “run this town” when the game is over. But with the Ray Rice scandal in full swing, it’s clear CBS didn’t want to feature another celebrity who was involved in a high-profile domestic violence incident. source
The musical opening will be replaced by a discussion of Roger Goodell‘s recent comments about the Ray Rice incident.
