A clip of Jay Z and Rihanna’s hit “Run This Town” was scheduled to air last week on CBS’ “Thursday Night Football” opener, but the network pulled the plug in the aftermath of the Ray Rice domestic violence incident.
The song was then supposed to be used during the game this coming Thursday – an idea the pop superstar (who was the victim of domestic violence in 2009) quickly slammed on Twitter.
“CBS you pulled my song last week, now you wanna slide it back in this Thursday? NO, F**k you!” she Tweeted on Tuesday. “Y’all are sad for penalizing me for this.”
Adding, “The audacity…”
Following Rih’s angry Tweet, CBS announced they would not be using the “Where Have You Been” singer’s music.
“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 on Tuesday. “We will be using our newly created Thursday Night Football theme music to open our game broadcast.”
On Tuesday afternoon, a rep for Rihanna offered further clarification on the issue (Rihanna did not pre-tape a performance for the show, nor did she re-record the song specifically for “Thursday Night Football”).
In fact, according to the rep, the network was not given permission to use the song.
“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,'” Rihanna’s rep said in a statement to Access Hollywood. “Roc Nation made the decision to not grant the song’s usage.”
— Erin O’Sullivan
Copyright © 2024 by NBC Universal, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be republished, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.