If you tuned into this evening’s Super Bowl Halftime show, then you already know that it was jam-packed with plenty of exciting (and memeable moments), such as 50 Cent’s surprise upside-down performance of “In Da Club” and Anderson .Paak’s drumming skills getting a moment in the spotlight during Eminem’s set.
Elsewhere in the 8 Mile actor’s stage time, he made a controversial move in taking a knee – an apparent tribute to Colin Kaepernick, who took a knee himself back in 2016 while the national anthem was playing as a protest against police brutality and police inequality.
Initially, rumours began flying online that the NFL had asked Em not to kneel, but a spokesperson for the league is clearing that up. When talking to the New York Times, Brian McCarthy shared that the NFL was aware of the “Beautiful” hitmaker’s intention to take a knee as officials had “watched it during rehearsals this week.”
McCarthy added that “players, coaches, and personnel were free to have taken a knee before today’s game, and that no one has been disciplined for taking a knee since 2016.” It’s also been noted that Roc Nation has declined to comment on what Eminem intended to signal in kneeling during his performance of “Lose Yourself.”
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Apart from the loaded Halftime show – which LeBron James described as “THE GREATEST HALFTIME SHOW [HE’S] EVER SEEN” – viewers also got to watch beautiful performances of “America the Beautiful” by Jhené Aiko and “The Star-Spangled Banner” by country artist Mickey Guyton.
Read more about that here, and let us know what you think of Eminem’s decision to take a knee at the 2022 Super Bowl in the comments.