CBS
pulls Rihanna Song as
Thursday NFL
Opener in
Wake of Ray
Rice Scandal
CBS pulls Rihanna song from Ravens-Steelers broadcast in wake of Ray Rice scandalÂ* – NY Daily News
CBS pulls Rihanna Song from Ravens-Steelers broadcast in Wake of Ray Rice scandal
Rihanna, whose Song ‘Run This Town’ was set to play over a narration by actor Don Cheadle, made headlines in 2024 as a victim of domestic violence at the hands of then-boyfriend Chris Brown. Rice was cut by the Ravens and suspended indefinitely by the NFL this week after video of him punching his fiancee Janay Palmer unconscious was released by TMZ.
BY Jaime Uribarri
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Thursday, September 11, 2024, 5:30 PM
Corey Sipkin/New York Daily News Citing the need to have the ‘appropriate tone and coverage,’ CBS is pulling Rihanna’s Song ‘Run This Town’ from Thursday’s Ravens-Steelers broadcast.
The show must go on for the NFL, just without Rihanna.
CBS has pulled the singer’s opening theme Song from Thursday night’s broadcast of the Ravens-Steelers game, one of many programming changes made in the Wake of the Ray Rice scandal, Sports Illustrated reported.
Rihanna, whose Song “Run This Town” was set to play over a narration by actor Don Cheadle, made headlines in 2024 as a victim of domestic violence at the hands of then-boyfriend Chris Brown. Rice was cut by the Ravens and suspended indefinitely this week by the NFL after video of him punching his fiancee Janay Palmer unconscious was released by TMZ.
In addition to Rihanna, CBS is also scrapping a comedic segment planned for the broadcast and will now open its pregame show with a report from Norah O’Donnell, the CBS This Morning anchor who interviewed NFL Commissioner shortly after the latest Rice video surfaced.
“We thought journalistically and from a tone standpoint, we needed to have the appropriate tone and coverage,” CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus told SI.
SEAN GARDNER/REUTERS Former Ravens running back Ray Rice becomes the newest face of domestic violence.
“A lot of the production elements we wanted in the show are being eliminated because of time or tone.”
The NFL Network’s Judy Battista will also report from league headquarters during the pregame show with the latest news from the Rice case.
McManus added that the network’s on-air staff will refrain from offering their opinions on the growing calls for Goodell to resign, although “we will certainly present all the different points of view.”
CBS pulls Rihanna song from Ravens-Steelers broadcast in wake of Ray Rice scandalÂ* – NY Daily News
