UPDATE: CBS has decided to abandon its plan to use “Run This Town,” according to Hollywood Reporter. “Beginning this Thursday, we will be moving in a different direction with some elements of our Thursday Night Football open,” the network’s sports division said. “We will be using our newly created Thursday Night Football theme music to open our game broadcast.”
A spokesperson for Roc Nation told Wall Street Journal that they revoked the license to use the song. “Due to the misuse and misrepresentation of Rihanna’s name and participation in connection to CBS’ ‘Thursday Night Football,’ CBS was not allowed to license and utilize the song ‘Run This Town,” the label/management company said.
Less than a week after CBS elected not to air a performance by Rihanna during Thursday Night Football, the singer has fired back at the network on Twitter. The network chose to postpone the pop star’s musical opening last week – a performance of “Run This Town,” TMZ reports – in light of the Ray Rice domestic-abuse scandal, as it would have played during a game by Rice’s old team, the Baltimore Ravens, and Rihanna was the victim of Chris Brown‘s assault in 2009. Now the singer is speaking out.