Reports that Travis Scott and Colin Kaepernick reached an “understanding” over the rapper’s plans to perform at the Super Bowl are inaccurate, according to syndicated radio host and MTV personality Nessa.
She tweeted on Wednesday, “There is NO mutual respect and there is NO understanding for anyone working against @Kaepernick7 PERIOD.”
The official Twitter account for Kaepernick — her boyfriend and a former San Francisco 49ers quarterback — retweeted her statement.
Nessa’s tweet was in response to a Complex article that cited a Variety report that the two men spoke before Scott confirmed he would perform in the Super Bowl halftime show.
“Scott and Kaepernick had at least one phone conversation before the rapper confirmed his Super Bowl appearance,” Variety reported. “A source close to Scott said that while the two did not necessarily agree, they emerged from the conversation with mutual respect and understanding.”
Nessa, whose full name is Nessa Diab, and a number of activists, musicians and members of the public have called on other artists to stand in solidarity with those protesting the NFL over its treatment of Kaepernick.
He began protesting police brutality and racial injustice by first sitting and then kneeling during the national anthem at NFL games in 2016. He became a free agent after the 2016 season and has not been signed to another team in the NFL. He and many others have charged that NFL owners have colluded to keep him out of the league because of his activism.
Variety also wrote that sources close to Scott said he took the stance that “everyone makes a statement in their own way,” regarding his reported agreement to partner with the NFL to donate $500,000 to the Dream Corps, a criminal justice reform nonprofit.
His public relations team declined a request for comment.
Civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton told TMZ last month that he believes anyone performing at the halftime show is “directly violating” the efforts of those protesting the NFL.
“You can’t have it both ways,” he said in response to rumors circulating at the time that Scott would perform at the Super Bowl. “You can’t help people market something and then turn around and say but you agree with what people are protesting.”
The NFL’s official Twitter account confirmed on Sunday that Scott will perform, along with Big Boi and Maroon 5, which is headlining the show.
Clarification: Language has been amended to more accurately reflect the intention of Nessa’s tweet.