--- title: Adam Levine Says He Expected Controversy Over Super Bowl Halftime Show description: Maroon 5's Adam Levine has addressed controversy over Maroon 5 playing at the Super Bowl halftime show canonical: https://time.com/5518397/adam-levine-maroon-5-super-bowl-halftime-show/ author: Mahita Gajanan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-02-01T13:14:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T22:39:13.553Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Maroon 5's Adam Levine Says He Expected Controversy Over Super Bowl Halftime Show og:description: He took the gig anyway og:url: https://time.com/5518397/adam-levine-maroon-5-super-bowl-halftime-show/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1bb967893ba239d0/6989445f09208fad0c413401/adam-levine-super-bowl-halftime-show.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Philly Fights Cancer: Round 4 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Maroon 5's Adam Levine Says He Expected Controversy Over Super Bowl Halftime Show twitter:description: He took the gig anyway twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1bb967893ba239d0/6989445f09208fad0c413401/adam-levine-super-bowl-halftime-show.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Maroon 5's Adam Levine Says He Expected Controversy Over Super Bowl Halftime Show, But Took the Gig Anyway by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Feb 1, 2019 1:14 PM UTC  Singer-songwriter Adam Levine of Maroon 5 performs during Philly Fights Cancer: Round 4 at The Philadelphia Navy Yard on November 10, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Singer-songwriter Adam Levine of Maroon 5 performs during Philly Fights Cancer: Round 4 at The Philadelphia Navy Yard on November 10, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Gilbert Carrasquillo—Getty Images by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Feb 1, 2019 1:14 PM UTC Adam Levine has addressed controversy over Maroon 5 playing at the Super Bowl halftime show, saying, “No one thought about it more than I did.” Ahead of the Super Bowl on Sunday, Levine spoke with CBS’ [_Entertainment Tonight_](https://www.etonline.com/adam-levine-super-bowl-halftime-controversy-nobody-thought-about-it-more-than-i-did-118569) about criticism over Maroon 5’s choice to take the [halftime show performance](http://time.com/5501622/maroon-5-travis-scott-super-bowl-53/), following months of controversy. A series of artists reportedly declined the gig in solidarity with former NFL quarterback [Colin Kaepernick](http://time.com/5386204/colin-kaepernick-nike-keeps-winning/), who started kneeling in protest of police brutality during the National Anthem in the 2016 season. “I’m not in the right profession if I can’t handle a little bit of controversy,” he said. “It’s what it is. We expected it. We’d like to move on from it and speak through the music.” > [](https://twitter.com/etnow/status/1091124646785642496) Performers, including Cardi B, Rihanna and Jay-Z reportedly [turned down](https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/super-bowl/8481199/rihanna-musicians-turned-down-super-bowl-halftime-show) the halftime show offer to stand with Kaepernick, who is no longer playing in the NFL. Earlier this month, the NFL confirmed Maroon 5 would headline the show, with additional performances from rappers Travis Scott and Big Boi. Scott said he and the NFL will make a donation to the social justice organization Dream. Levine said he put a lot of thought into the decision for Maroon 5 to take the Super Bowl stage and defended his choice. “I like to think that people know where I stand as a human being after two decades doing this,” he said. “I’m not a speaker. I’m not a public speaker. I do speak, but it’s through the music.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5518397/adam-levine-maroon-5-super-bowl-halftime-show/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5518397/adam-levine-maroon-5-super-bowl-halftime-show/"},"headline":"Maroon 5's Adam Levine Says He Expected Controversy Over Super Bowl Halftime Show, But Took the Gig Anyway","datePublished":"2019-02-01T13:14:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T22:39:13.553Z","description":"Maroon 5's Adam Levine has addressed controversy over Maroon 5 playing at the Super Bowl halftime show","url":"https://time.com/5518397/adam-levine-maroon-5-super-bowl-halftime-show/","keywords":["Super Bowl 2019","Music","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1bb967893ba239d0/6989445f09208fad0c413401/adam-levine-super-bowl-halftime-show.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mahita Gajanan","jobTitle":"Gajanan is an editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1bb967893ba239d0/6989445f09208fad0c413401/adam-levine-super-bowl-halftime-show.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Philly Fights Cancer: Round 4","caption":"Philly Fights Cancer: Round 4","creditText":"Gilbert Carrasquillo—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/super-bowl-2019/","name":"Super Bowl 2019"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5518397/adam-levine-maroon-5-super-bowl-halftime-show/","name":"Maroon 5's Adam Levine Says He Expected Controversy Over Super Bowl Halftime Show, But Took the Gig Anyway"}}]}] ```