Eminem bent down on one knee during his iconic Super Bowl Halftime Show in 2022, prompting fans to believe it was in protest of racial injustice.
The Super Bowl LVI halftime show in 2022 was a love letter to the hip-hop genre as rap royalties Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J Blige, Eminem, and Kendrick Lamar lit up the SoFi Stadium with their greatest hits. Eminem wrapped up his solo stage of Lose Yourself by taking a knee, a pose he maintained for 50 seconds as the show continued. The gesture became one of the most talked-about moments of the NFL final, after the initial belief the rapper was protesting against racial injustice and police brutality.
Eminem’s Super Bowl knee applauded for ‘defying’ the NFL
The 15-time Grammy winner kneeled on his left leg and held his head as he looked at the ground as Dr Dre played the intro to Still D.R.E on the piano. Early speculations assumed the 50-second pose was an act of solidarity with former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who took a knee during the national anthem to protest police brutality and social injustice during the 2016 season.
Claims followed that Eminem, 51, disregarded the NFL’s instructions after they allegedly told him to exclude the kneel from his performance, but the outspoken rapper continued to proceed.
Viewers showered the Mockingbird rapper with praises for his brave gesture, including Twitter comments such as: “Eminem took a knee despite the NFL telling him not to. Just another reason to love him,” one wrote.
Fans jumped the gun with their applause as the NFL later clarified they were aware of the kneel from before, so Eminem did not defy the football league.
“We watched all elements of the show during multiple rehearsals this week and were aware that Eminem was going to do that,” league spokesman Brian McCarthy said. “This was not an area of concern. A player or coach could have taken a knee today and there would not have been an issue.”
Dr Dre also told TMZ the kneel posed no issue with the NFL.
There is no evidence to prove Eminem was kneeling in a nod to Kaepernick as the rapper did so during Still D.R.E, instead of The Star-Spangled Banner.
2024 Super Bowl halftime show performer and song predictions
R&B king Usher will have football fans saying OMG when he takes over the Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada on February 11, 2024. It is the first time the Super Bowl will be held in Las Vegas, but it’s the perfect venue for Usher, who just wrapped up his Vegas residency that started in 2021. It won’t be his Super Bowl debut, however. He guest-appeared during the Black Eyed Peas performance at Super Bowl XLV (2011).
The singer was unveiled as the performer in September, calling the gig “an honor of a lifetime”. At the time of writing, Usher has yet to drop hints on his set list, but given his impressive discography, we have a few guesses in mind.
Celebrity Tidbit predicts the performance will either begin or end with the club anthem, Yeah!, making it the perfect opportunity to bring on Ludacris and Lil Jon. Usher will then slow things down with U Got It Bad and My Boo, before welcoming Will.I.Am for OMG.
Summer Walker and 21 Savage may also cameo for Usher’s latest single, Good Good, off his new album Coming Home, which dropped two days before the halftime show.
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