Rihanna is adamant that she does not want to participate in any of the stints CBS is doing for "Thursday Night Football", in relation to the Ray Rice scandal.
Rihanna, herself has been a victim of domestic violence, and therefore does not want any involvement with any entity that is involved with the same case.
According to CNN,
"After a dust-up last week, Rihanna says she doesn't want her performance of the song 'Run This Town' to air on 'Thursday Night Football' this week. CBS is saying 'fine' -- if you don't want the airtime, we won't give it.
'Beginning this Thursday, we will be moving in a different direction with some elements of our 'Thursday Night Football' open,' CBS said in a statement.
'Run This Town' will be replaced by theme music -- apparently for the rest of the season, not just for this week.
The network's decision was announced Tuesday morning, a few hours after Rihanna criticized the network on Twitter.
'CBS you pulled my song last week, now you wanna slide it back in this Thursday? NO,' she wrote, followed by an expletive.
'Y'all are sad for penalizing me for this,' she added.
After CBS weighed in, however, the company that owns the rights to the song, Roc Nation, said the change stemmed from its revocation of the rights.
'Due to the misuse and misrepresentation of Rihanna's name and participation in connection to CBS' TNF, CBS was not allowed to license and utilize the song 'Run This Town.' Roc Nation made the decision to not grant the song's usage,' the company said in a statement.
Rihanna recorded a special version of 'Run This Town' for CBS' fall telecasts of 'Thursday Night Football.'The song was supposed to be part of the opening video for the weekly show in much the same way that a Carrie Underwood performance kicks off NBC's 'Sunday Night Football.'
But CBS scrapped the opening video last week in light of its news coverage of the Ray Rice scandal that has engulfed the NFL. Holding off on the video gave CBS more time for somber discussion of domestic violence and the league's treatment of it.
Rihanna, who was a victim of domestic violence during a 2009 incident with then-boyfriend and fellow music star Chris Brown, indicated in her tweets that she felt the network was punishing her."
What do you think, readers? Are you Team Rihanna or Team CBS? Sound off in the comments below!
