Wonkette: The Super Bowl, traditionally, is a massive moneymaking venture for all involved. The NFL, the station that broadcasts it, the cities that host it, the players who play in it, the celebrities who appear in advertisements that play during it ... there's a lot of cash to go around.
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This doesn’t even surprise me at this point. The pull of named talent or famous venues/ performances is often used to take advantage of the hungry young artists desperate to climb the social ladder. They call it exposure, but the truth is that these dancers would not be given close up shots or credit during the main program and this company is just trying to take advantage of them. It just confuses me, like how is this even legal? The regulations on the entertainment industry are a joke if workers can just be manipulated into not being paid for their labor. Like can you imagine this happening in any other industry? “Hey, Salesman, can you make calls from home to promote our business without being paid?” That just wouldn’t happen! I hope that a future comes in which performers not only know their worth, but have the power to demand the compensation owed to them.
The exploitation of performing artists under the guise of “exposure” is a long scam in the entertainment industry. It’s especially egregious coming from such a lucrative event such as the superbowl, which can more than afford to pay its back up dancers. The knowledge that back up dancers have been paid (in money, not exposure) in previous years of the superbowl is evidence that this is a specific exploitation of Black performers. People will hone an art form their entire lives for the chance at a gig like the superbowl, and the way that this event has taken advantage of that fact for profit at the expense of hard working artists is disgusting. It’s shocking that this is in any way shape or form legal. These dancers absolutely will contribute to the quality of and monetary gain from the superbowl halftime show. Their added value is worth millions, and a gross ploy at underpaying that value infinitely is completely unacceptable.
What a disgusting and disrespectful “offer.” The Super Bowl is a planet-sized money magnet; if funding can be put into fireworks and merchandise, why can’t it be put into paying the performers who are working to entertain millions of viewers? I know so many people who only watch the halftime show, and the time before and after is extremely valuable ad space. As the article mentions, the fact that it is mostly Black dancers being asked to pay to do their job is especially damaging. This issue reminded me of when I learned that NFL cheerleaders make less than minimum wage at times; these people have dedicated time, money, and energy into becoming skilled performers, and to ask them to perform without any compensation is nonsensical. Having to sign an NDA before knowing any details about the job is also very suspicious and is a red flag for anyone getting these types of offers.
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