Eminem Takes A Knee During Super Bowl Halftime Show, NFL Says They Were "Aware" It Would Happen

BYHayley Hynes10.8K Views
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Rumours have been floating around that the NFL asked Em not to take a knee ahead of the show, but they've since been shut down.

If you tuned into this evening's Super Bowl Halftime show, then you already know that it was jam-packed with plenty of exciting (and memeable moments), such as 50 Cent's surprise upside-down performance of "In Da Club" and Anderson .Paak's drumming skills getting a moment in the spotlight during Eminem's set.

Elsewhere in the 8 Mile actor's stage time, he made a controversial move in taking a knee – an apparent tribute to Colin Kaepernick, who took a knee himself back in 2016 while the national anthem was playing as a protest against police brutality and police inequality.


Initially, rumours began flying online that the NFL had asked Em not to kneel, but a spokesperson for the league is clearing that up. When talking to the New York Times, Brian McCarthy shared that the NFL was aware of the "Beautiful" hitmaker's intention to take a knee as officials had "watched it during rehearsals this week."

McCarthy added that "players, coaches, and personnel were free to have taken a knee before today's game, and that no one has been disciplined for taking a knee since 2016." It's also been noted that Roc Nation has declined to comment on what Eminem intended to signal in kneeling during his performance of "Lose Yourself."

Eminem Takes A Knee During Super Bowl Halftime Show, NFL Says They Were "Aware" It Would Happen
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Apart from the loaded Halftime show – which LeBron James described as "THE GREATEST HALFTIME SHOW [HE'S] EVER SEEN" – viewers also got to watch beautiful performances of "America the Beautiful" by Jhené Aiko and "The Star-Spangled Banner" by country artist Mickey Guyton.

Read more about that here, and let us know what you think of Eminem's decision to take a knee at the 2022 Super Bowl in the comments.


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About The Author
Hayley Hynes is the former Weekend Managing Editor of HotNewHipHop, she stepped down after two years in 2024 to pursue other creative opportunities but remains on staff part-time to cover music, gossip, and pop culture news. Currently, she contributes similar content on Blavity and 21Ninety, as well as on her personal blog where she also offers tarot/astrology services. Hayley resides on the western side of Canada, previously spending a year in Vancouver to study Fashion Marketing at Blanche Macdonald Centre and Journalism at Mount Royal University in Calgary before that. She's passionate about helping others heal through storytelling, and shares much more about her life on Instagram @hayleyhynes.
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