Best memes and tweets reacting to Rihanna Super Bowl halftime show

While the Super Bowl is football’s biggest night of the season, it’s also one of the biggest pop culture nights of the year as well.

It’s been known for a while that Rihanna would be performing at the Super Bowl LVII halftime show, and it was an announcement that instantly made this year’s show one of the most anticipated in recent memory.

That’s saying a lot, considering some of the acts that have performed at halftime in years past. Rihanna followed an insane set last year that featured Dr. Dre, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and Missy Elliot. Beyonce, Lady Gaga, and Katy Perry have also performed recently and each time we’ve been given some sort of pop culture moment to remember the performance by.

Even Justin Timberlake, who gave a performance that was good but not great, gave us a moment when he projected an image of Prince while performing the halftime show in Minneapolis. It was controversial, and not completely well-received, but it was a moment nonetheless.

Lady Gaga repelled from the roof of the stadium, Katy Perry gave us Left Shark, and Beyonce is Beyonce.

Rihanna lived up to expectations and then some.

Best memes and tweets about Rihanna Super Bowl halftime show (Updated)

https://twitter.com/JayMarch/status/1624945089003790338

Is Rihanna pregnant? (Updated)

Rihanna’s performance was outstanding, but it wasn’t the only thing the internet was obsessing over. As she blazed through the Super Bowl halftime show dropping banger after banger, watchful eyes were trying to determine whether or not she was pregnant with her second child.

NFL on CBS reporter Nate Burleson fanned the pregnancy rumor flames implying Rihanna dropped that she was pregnant while talking about her Super Bowl halftime performance earlier this week.

https://twitter.com/nateburleson/status/1624947348098154497?s=46&t=ox7Ch8gExwTNdFrW46-18A

Rihanna didn’t comment on her personal life or a possible pregnancy before her performance, so it’s pointless and unfair to speculate — especially at the expense of taking away from her amazing performance.

That didn’t stop the internet from going bonkers with the memes:

https://twitter.com/D1aphanousBTS/status/1624945433733738496

After her performance, a representative for Rihanna confirmed that she is pregnant with her second child.

Pregnancy rumors aside, the Super Bowl halftime performance stands on its own. There have been some memorable halftime shows over the years — from Beyonce to Prince — but it’s hard to argue against Rihanna now ranking near the top of that list.

How much did Rihanna get paid for Super Bowl halftime show?

Contrary to what you might assume about someone performing at an event as big as the Super Bowl halftime show, Rihanna didn’t get paid a single cent for her performance.

The NFL never pays its halftime acts, rather they use the allure of exposure to a massive audience as a form of payment. Instead, the NFL foots the bill for production costs that go into the halftime show which technically counts as a form of payment since the artists and their management don’t have to pay for any of the sets.

Rihanna hasn’t released an album since 2016’s Anti, but there’s speculation that she’s about to drop one soon. With a new album would come a tour, and the halftime show’s exposure puts Rihanna squarely back in the center of the zeitgeist.

She’s Rihanna, so she doesn’t need much help to remind everyone of her prowess. Her setlist at the halftime show was proof enough, as every single song was a reminder that her catalog is one of the strongest among any musician. But it does feel like we’re in for a Rihanascence in the near future.