Eminem Kneeled in Protest In the course of the 2022 Tremendous Bowl Halftime Present

This yr’s Tremendous Bowl had its fair proportion of explosive moments, nevertheless it additionally featured a daring assertion from Eminem. The “Lose Your self” rapper carried out his anthem tune for the halftime present — which featured Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, and 50 Cent — alongside Anderson .Paak, and through his a part of the set, Eminem took a knee in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter motion.

Simply earlier than the matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals went down, stories shared that Eminem kneeling went towards the NFL’s needs as they beforehand turned down his request. However NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy later denied these claims, stating the league already knew of the rapper’s protest. “We watched all parts of the present throughout a number of rehearsals this week and had been conscious that Eminem was going to do this,” he mentioned.

Eminem kneeling through the sport was a tribute to former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who kneeled through the nationwide anthem in 2016. However the rapper’s assertion was additionally a tribute to different Black athletes who’ve stood up towards injustices prior to now on the threat of dropping endorsements and being blackballed — together with Muhammad Ali, Wyomia Tyus, Tommie Smith, John Carlos, and others.