Eminem was part of one of the greatest halftime performances in Super Bowl history on Sunday night.
This statement should not be controversial to anyone who tuned in.
But the legendary rapper did go ahead and stir up some drama at the conclusion of his “Lose Yourself” rendition in SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
How so? By doing the following…
Yup. Eminem took to a knee after completing his segment of an old school rap-themed show that featured himself, Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg and Mary J. Blige.
The artist wasn’t performing.
He was almost definitely paying homage to Colin Kaepernick.
The former NFL quarterback kneeled uring the national anthem in 2016 to protest police brutality and social injustice throughout the country.
Other players eventually followed suit, and the move created widespread cultural chatter and controversial.
The former San Francisco signal-caller has been out of football since the year he made this move… with anyone whose head is above sand aware that he was blackballed by owners as a result of his gesture.
Eminem, for his part, has a history of supporting Kaepernick’s efforts.
In 2017, during the BET Hip Hop Awards, he performed a four-plus minute freestyle rap, calling out former President Donald Trump in the process and embracing Kaepernick and his message on racism and police brutality at another point.
The Detroit rapper raised his fist at that time and rapped:
“F-ck that, this is for Colin, ball up a fist and keep that sh-t balled like Donald the bitch.”
According to reports, meanwhile, officials from the NFL had seen Eminem and his friends rehearse for the Super Bowl halftime show and noted that he had taken a knee during these run-ups to Sunday as well.
The league had allegedly told Eminem NOT to honor Kaepernick in such a manner.
“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 simply told ESPN in response after the concert aired.
Elsewhere, Eminem also included Kaepernick in the lyrics of his 2017 song “Untouchable,” which included these lyrics:
“Somebody has to be the sacrificial lamb … So they call it a Kaepernick tantrum …
“If you don’t stand for the national anthem … We raise it, you better praise it.”
This Super Bowl performance marked the first time hip-hop artists were the main performers at halftime of the big game, which the Los Angeles Rams won by a score of 23-20 over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Perhaps because of his planned kneeling, Eminem confessed late last week that he was anxious to be part of history.
“I’mma tell you, it’s f-cking nerve-wracking.
“It’s f-cking nerve-wracking,” the rapper said on SiriusXM’s Sway in the Morning. “This to me… there’s nothing more final than live TV. So, if you f-ck up, your f-ck up is there forever.”
If you ask this celebrity gossip website, however?
Eminem did not f-ck up at the Super Bowl.
Quite the opposite.
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