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Eminem Took A Knee During His Super Bowl Halftime Performance

Former NFL quarterback, Colin Kaepernick started this gesture in 2016 to protest against police brutality and racial discrimination.

Eminem performs during the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show at SoFi Stadium on February 13, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Photos by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

It looks like Eminem seemingly continued the movement Colin Kaepernick started years ago by taking a knee during the Super Bowl 56 halftime show. Kaepernick, the former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, was heavily criticized for kneeling during the national anthem at a 2016 preseason game to protest against police brutality and racial inequality. But many others continue to take a knee in solidarity with Kaepernick and his message, reports CNN. Now during Super Bowl 2022 halftime show performance, Eminem is doing the same. 



 

Sunday's performance marked the first time hip-hop artists were the main performers for the halftime show. The 49-year-old rapper performed on Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California alongside Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar.

The musician kneeled on stage after performing his Oscar and Grammy-winning track "Lose Yourself". He sunk to his knee while holding his head as Dr. Dre performed some of Tupac's "I Ain't Aad at Cha" in a tribute. Despite reports that the kneeling was against the NFL's wishes, a spokesman told USA Today reporter Mike Freeman that "the NFL watched every rehearsal this week." Freeman tweeted: The part of the show were Eminem kneeled? Report stated it was against the wishes of the NFL. However, NFL spokesman Brian McCarhy told me that report is false. The NFL watched every rehearsal this week and that element was included. Just passing along.



 

According to PEOPLE, the rapper has previously mentioned Kaepernick in the lyrics of his 2020 song "Black Magic," rapping, "I ain't gon' stand for that s– / like Kaep for the national anthem." Before his performance, the musician did admit he was nervous. He told SiriusXM's Sway in the Morning on Shade 45, "I'mma tell you, it's f---ing nerve-wracking. It's f---ing nerve-wracking."

"This to me… there's nothing more final than live TV. So, if you f--- up, your f--- up is there forever." The "Lose Yourself" rapper also admitted that he's been "blown away" by Dr. Dre's vision for the show as well as Lamar's "top tier" lyrics. "When the whole thing started going down and we were like, 'OK, this might be actually serious.' I was trying to envision what Dre. might do," Eminem explained. "I was thinking like, yeah, that's dope that all of us are gonna rap together, right, and that kind of thing, but I didn't expect the production to be like this."