COLIN KAEPERNICK

After reports leaked that Eminem had been forbidden to kneel in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick’s protest campaign, during today’s halftime show he decided to go his own way. Eminem’s contribution to the star-studded show was focused mainly on his massive hit, “Lose Yourself,” which featured a cameo from none other than Anderson Paak on the drums, but at the end of that song, he chose to kneel down onstage and highlight Kaepernick’s protests.

Some might think it’s too little too late for white artists and athletes to begin supporting Colin’s movement, which ended up with him struggling to find a place when it came to the draft, others will definitely find it commendable that Eminem used his own position to shine a light. Currently, Ava Duvernay and Netflix are working on a six-episode series about Colin called Colin In Black And White.

It might’ve been a little bit more impactful if the activist himself had been invited onstage, either by Dr. Dre and his cohort, or by the NFL themselves, who seemed intent on silencing or ignoring the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback during the height of his protests, which were primarily enacted as the peaceful act of kneeling during the National Anthem before games. Check out some reactions to Eminem’s choice to kneel below.