"Most men would have rushed the stage": Robert Griffin III calls out Usher's Super Bowl halftime show with Alicia Keys
Super Bowl halftime shows often get seemingly a proportionately equal amount of attention as the game itself. Analysts, pundits and fans seem to have as many opinions about the game as they do about the halftime show, including Robert Griffin III.
The former Ravens and Redskins quarterback recently posted a video on his X account. In the video, he explains why he would be angry with singer Usher if Alicia Keys were his wife.
"[00:00:50] I'm not an actor," Griffin III says. "My wife's not an actress. We're not in that type of entertainment, so they might view it differently, but I don't. ... I feel like most men would have rushed the stage and been like, 'nah fam.' The way I looked at it was like, how would I feel? How would she feel if I was hugging another woman in front of 123 million? [00:01:09]"
One fan joked that Griffin III was warning Usher and posted the infamous video of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars on X.
Keys and Usher's halftime show featured risque dancing. It included a part that saw the two embrace in what many would describe as a romantic move.
Super Bowl halftime show history
The modern spectacle of the Super Bowl halftime show wasn't always a live concert. Decades before Patrick Mahomes defeated every opponent not named Tom Brady in the Big Game, the Super Bowl's halftime show was not unlike a halftime show put on by a university.
Per CBS Sports, the first several halftime shows featured college marching bands. The University of Arizona, the Grambling State band and the Florida A&M bands played in the first several Super Bowl halftime shows. College marching bands were a yearly staple through the 1960s and early 1970s.
Some bands and singers began trickling into the performances through the late 1970s during the Pittsburgh Steelers' terrible towel era and 1980s. However, it was not until the 1990s that the show became the spectacle it's known as today.
In 1993, as the Dallas Cowboys were coming into their prime, Michael Jackson gave a memorable halftime performance. It kicked off a new era of musical greats taking the gridiron between the second and third quarters. Still, not every year featured a concert. In 1996, a pyrotechnics display and a helicopter landing served as the centerpieces of the halftime show.
However, not soon after, the shows became simple concerts with massive production values. Since the New England Patriots came to power around 2002, every halftime show can be described by naming a band or list of singers.
Recent Super Bowl halftime performers
- 2024: Usher with special guests Alicia Keys, Jermaine Dupri, H.E.R., will.i.am, Lil Jon, Ludacris
- 2023: Rihanna
- 2022: Eminem, Dr. Dre. Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J. Blige
- 2021: The Weeknd
- 2020: Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Emme Muniz
- 2019: Maroon 5, Travis Scott, Big Boi
- 2018: Justin Timberlake, The Tennessee Kids
- 2017: Lady Gaga
- 2016: Coldplay, Beyonce, Bruno Mars
- 2015: Katy Perry, Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliott
- 2014: Bruno Mars, Red Hot Chili Peppers
- 2013: Beyonce
- 2012: Madonna
- 2011: The Black Eyed Peas, Usher, Slash
- 2010: The Who
- 2009: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
- 2008: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
- 2007: Prince and the Florida A&M marching band
- 2006: The Rolling Stones
- 2005: Paul McCartney
- 2004: Janet Jackson, Kid Rock, P. Diddy, Nelly and Justin Timberlake
- 2003: Shania Twain, No Doubt and Sting
- 2002: U2