(Joshua Paladino, Headline USA) After he finished performing his Grammy-winning song “Lose Yourself” during the Super Bowl halftime show, rapper Eminem kneeled while the other musicians continued to play.
Initial reports about Eminem’s performance said that the NFL told him he could not kneel.
Eminem kneels during the halftime performance, after NFL officials reportedly shut down the idea #SuperBowl https://t.co/sHMyZB1FuW pic.twitter.com/UigAAEqemu
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) February 14, 2022
Later reports stated that the NFL knew about Eminem’s decision to kneel beforehand and authorized him to do so, The Daily Caller reported.
“We watched all elements of the show during multiple rehearsals this week and were aware that Eminem was going to do that,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told ESPN.
Some commentators have suggested, however, that the NFL only decided to approve Eminem’s kneeling after the fact.
Eminem’s kneeling immediately evoked references to former NFL Quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who kneeled during the national anthem before a game in 2016.
Eminem taking a knee for Kaepernick? pic.twitter.com/T4p3vOHBUC
— The Recount (@therecount) February 14, 2022
Eminem did not kneel during the national anthem, but many viewers thought that it carried the same connotation: that America is inherently racist and its police systematically target and brutalize black people.
Eminem’s own comments bolster the theory that he kneeled, like Kaepernick, in protest of police brutality and racism in the United States, CNN reported.
During the BET Hip Hop Awards in 2017, Eminem unleashed a profanity-laced 4-minute freestyle that targeted former President Donald Trump and praised Kaepernick.
“F— that, this is for Colin, ball up a fist and keep that s— balled like Donald the b—-,” he rapped.”
Eminem also released a 2017 song titled, “Untouchable,” where he lauded Kaepernick’s protest.
