Rapper Eminem kneeled on stage at the highly anticipated Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday in a tribute to quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who has become an anti-racism activist and sues the NFL for claiming clubs banded together to not hire him.
The gesture by Kaepernick, who decided to kneel during the American anthem before matches in 2016, was heavily criticized by Donald Trump and sectors of society and cost him his career in the NFL.
“I will not stand up and show pride in the flag of a country that oppresses black people,” said the athlete and activist at the time.
In this Sunday’s performance, Eminem repeated the gesture when he finished singing the hit “Lose Yourself”, kneeling and with his head in his hand. In this way, he challenged the NFL, which would have vetoed the demonstration at the show’s rehearsals.
In 2020, after the death of George Floyd in a police action, other athletes made the gesture in protest against racism. In 2017, Trump, then US president, called on the NFL to ban players from kneeling in protest during the national anthem.
In addition to Eminem, the halftime show featured performances by rappers Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dog and Mary J. Blige. Another rapper, 50 Cent, made a cameo. It was the first time that rap was the predominant song in the Super Bowl musical performances.
The artistic production was done by Jay-Z, also responsible for the presentations of Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, in 2020, and The Weeknd in 2021.
The championship final of the NFL, the main American football league in the United States, consecrated the victory of the American football team Los Angeles Rams, which scored 23 points against the 20 of the opponent, Cincinnati Bengals.
Stars like Kanye West and his daughter North, Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner, Ellen DeGeneres, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Leonardo DiCaprio and even Prince Harry and his cousin Princess Eugenie were seen at the event.
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