Rihanna performed at the NCAA March Madness Festival in Indianapolis and slammed the state for passing its ‘religious freedom’ law. (Photo by Simone Joyner/Getty Images)
The Final Four pitted the Kentucky Wildcats against the Wisconsin Badgers and the Duke Blue Devils against the Michigan State Spartans.
The final championship game will be played tonight (Apr. 6) between Wisconsin and Duke. But that was neither here nor there at the concert.
Rihanna took a moment from her performance to join other celebrities who have criticized the state for passing the law.
It allows businesses to discriminate against homosexuals based on religious beliefs.
Miley Cyrus was one of the first celebrities to speak out followed by Seth MacFarlane, Ellen DeGeneres Mark Ruffalo and others.
Unlike other celebrities, however, who first shots from the safe distance of Twitter or Instagram, Rihanna was in the belly of the beast in Indianapolis before a crowd made up largely by state residents.
And, the Barbadian singer was having none of it.
During her song “American Oxygen,” she paused to make her statement. It was the first time she sang it live.
“Who’s feeling these new bullshit laws that they’re trying to pass over here?” she shouted out at the city’s White River State Park.
“I say fu*k that shit. I wanna hear you say, ‘Fu*k that shit’ cause we’re just living our motherfu*king lives. Indiana!”
With that, she segued into her 2008 song “Live Your Life.” which echoed similar themes.
The national uproar caused the Indiana legislature to amend the statute to make clear discrimination was not allowed. Gov. Mike Pence signed the new measure into law on Apr. 2.
Check out Riahnna’s performances below, let us know your thoughts and be sure to follow IM on Twitter for the latest music news.