Harry Styles is being urged to cancel his headline performance at a Super Bowl event at the end of the month.
The One Direction star is due to appear on stage at the Pepsi Zero Sugar party on January 31 in Miami, Florida.
While Styles admitted he was ‘excited’ to play at the event, people are urging the singer to sever ties with Super Bowl and pull out of his scheduled appearance.
Why do people want Harry Styles to back out of the Super Bowl event?
Styles is being urged to stand in solidarity with former NFL player Colin Kaepernick who has been shunned by the American football league.
It’s been pointed out event sponsors Pepsi have been accused of racial insensitivity after an advert featuring Kendall Jenner appeared to ‘trivialise’ political resistance and was accused of ‘disrespecting’ the Black Lives Matter movement.
The hashtag ‘HarryBackOut’ began trending on social media, with many of both Styles and Kaepernick’s supporters asking the singer to reconsider his performance.
One fan said on Twitter: ‘If Harry backs out… y’all that’s such a BIG STATEMENT. Not a lot of artists listen to their fans when we say how we actually feel about important things like these. Harry pls pls make us feel HEARD.’
While Styles may be contractually obligated to perform, people are also suggesting he donate his paycheque to a Black Lives Matter organisation.
Another person wrote: ‘POC fans have the right to feel valued and respected. And a lot of times they aren’t. I understand that Harry can’t back out bc of a contract but he can speak up more and he can donate to BLM, or other causes.’
Harry will be performing at the Planet @Pepsi Zero Sugar party on Friday, January 31st in Miami. Tickets on sale now: https://t.co/iUHK5X6BJ6 pic.twitter.com/zpcx4k7mLH
— HSHQ (@HSHQ) January 17, 2020
A number of high-profile celebrities – including Rihanna, Cardi B, J Cole and John Legend – have all declined the opportunity to perform at the Super Bowl.
Shakira and Jennifer Lopez are also facing pressure to reconsider their performance at the Super Bowl’s Half Time Show.
However both singers have defended their decision, arguing it offered the opportunity for their Latin culture to be celebrated.
Kaepernick led a campaign against police injustice and institutional racism by kneeling during the US national anthem in 2016.
The player faced backlash from President Donald Trumps among others for his actions and has not appeared in a game since then, with NFL teams refusing to sign him.
MORE: DJ Khaled supports Jay Z amid rapper’s plans to buy NFL team to rehire Colin Kaepernick