Adele turns down Super Bowl half-time show but NFL claims it never offered

'That show is not about music'

(PA)

A weird passive-aggressive exchange is going on between Adele, the NFL and Pepsi this week, after the singer told the crowd during a sold-out Staples Center show that she was offered the Super Bowl 2017 halftime show but wasn’t interested.

“First of all, I’m not doing the Super Bowl,” she said during one of her mid-set chinwags. “Well, come on, that show is not about music. And I don’t really - I can’t dance or anything like that. They were very kind, they did ask me, but I said no.”

I imagine Adele was referring to the all-dancing, Left Shark aspect to the show, as opposed to ‘not about music’ scandals like the Red Hot Chili Peppers playing not plugged in, but her comments seemed to sting the NFL and sponsor Pepsi anyway.

They responded in a joint statement to Billboard:

“The NFL and Pepsi are big fans of Adele. We have had conversations with several artists about the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show. However, we have not at this point extended a formal offer to Adele or anyone else. We are focused on putting together a fantastic show for Houston and we look forward to revealing that in good time.”

As it was pointed out on Twitter, though, it’s very possible the NFL didn’t give Adele a formal offer precisely because she said no to the informal one.

It’s pretty rare for a musician to turn down the slot - regarded as possibly the biggest gig in the world - with recent performers including Coldplay, Beyoncé, Katy Perry and Madonna.