Dancers from Rihanna‘s Super Bowl performance have revealed that no one in the back-up ensemble knew the singer was pregnant.
READ MORE: The biggest moments from Rihanna’s Super Bowl Halftime Show
The pop sensation performed a career-spanning set in Glendale, Arizona on Sunday (February 12), her first live performance in five years.
She wore a bright red outfit – later featuring a tribute to late fashion icon André Leon Talley – and performed the show from platforms suspended above the pitch as 280 dancers in all white executed synchronised choreography around her.
As the singer began ‘Bitch Better Have My Money’ she appeared to rub her stomach, which caused many fans online to speculate she could be pregnant with her second child. Representatives for the star later confirmed the news.
It’s now been revealed that the pop sensation’s surprise reveal was news to her dancers, too.
rihanna opening the show with ‘bitch better have my money’ #superbowl pic.twitter.com/xsvtNVxIRq
— 2000s (@PopCulture2000s) February 13, 2023
“I don’t think anybody really knew she was pregnant,” back-up dancer Laila Hayes told Entertainment Tonight. “She hid it very well.”
“We were all confused watching it during the real thing when she went up there and was showing her stomach,” the dancer added. “She wore the same outfit for one of the dress rehearsals but it was zippered up.”
“I never saw a bump,” Luhnyae Campbell added. “Not even the day of. I had to rewatch the performance on YouTube to realise.”
The dancers revealed that they were selected back in January and rehearsed for two weeks, but Rihanna didn’t join until the week of the show to rehearse on the field.
Hayes added that Rihanna wore oversized Fenty jumpers in the cold weather and mostly kept her distance, so there was no suspicion about whether she was pregnant.
“A little bit before [the performance], she had just thanked all the dancers, the production company, the directors,” Hayes added.
Replying to @koochiepotpie tried to answer most of the main questions with this one! And did we get paid? YESSS AHH #rihannahalftimeshow #fyp
“I loved watching her during rehearsals,” Campbell continued. “She was such a light. You could see it in her face, how much she was genuinely enjoying the production and the performance of all the dancers.”
The singer’s sign language interpreter was also praised for stealing the show with their impassioned performance.
It’s also been confirmed that Rihanna’s Super Bowl halftime show is the second most-watched of all time. The singer has also spoken about her long-awaited ninth album in a new interview.
The post Rihanna’s Super Bowl dancers didn’t even know she was pregnant appeared first on NME.