Did Rihanna Wear a ‘Satanic’ Pentagram During Her Super Bowl Halftime Show?

Claim:

Rihanna wore a “satanic” pentagram symbol on her costume while performing at the Super Bowl LVII halftime show on February 12, 2023.

Evaluation:

Rihanna officiated the halftime show at Super Bowl LVII on February 12, 2023, and on some social media fringes, the black waist buckle on her otherwise fire red jumpsuit was all everyone wanted to talk about. A photo allegedly circulated, revealing that the buckle was in the shape of a “satanic” five-pointed star, also known as the pentagram:

A similar tweet on game day by far-right conspiracy theorist Stew Peters has nearly a million views as of this writing:

However, as many viewers of the photo are quick to point out, what some labeled a pentagram – by definition a five-pointed star – actually appeared to be one six-pointed star (also known as the Star of David). But — call it a trick of lighting, angle, or movement — higher-quality photos revealed that the supposed “symbol” wasn’t a star at all, but rather a waist buckle, as clearly seen in this photo from Getty Images:

(Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Armed, we suppose, by outrage at what US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and others called a “demonic” performance by Sam Smith at the Grammy awards ceremony a week earlier by some Super Bowl viewers showed eagerness to exclaim what they saw (or wanted others to see) as a trend in “Satanic ritualism” in mainstream entertainment:

We’ve seen instances of what might be termed “satanic panic” emanating from Super Bowl halftime performances before. Lady Gaga’s halftime show in 2017 received the same treatment. In 2021, viral social media posts falsely claimed that the word “Satan” flashed against a background during Weeknd’s performance.

[See also: Did Elon Musk Sit with Rupert Murdoch at Super Bowl LVII?]

Sources