After becoming a topic of discussion for sitting during the national anthem at this year’s Super Bowl, Jay-Z is setting the record straight.
The performances at this year’s Super Bowl were second to none.
Halftime Show headliners, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, tore up the stage with their singing, dancing, and everything in between (including pole dancing!).
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They even had time to make a political statement by having children sing in cages.
One of those children happened to be J-Lo’s 11-year-old daughter, Emme, who blew the world away with her voice.
People on Twitter literally lost their minds over the performance.
For the most part, everyone loved it.
Despite the fact that some thought it wasn’t family-friendly, it was still largely well-received.
But before all this, Demi Lovato kicked things off by singing the national anthem.
This marked the singer’s second performance in over two years.
The first took place earlier this year when she debuted her new song, “Anyone” at the Grammys.
Her Super Bowl performance has been getting high praise.
It’s even been called the “best since Whitney Houston,” according to The Washington Times .
This major comeback for Lovato comes after a super dark time in her life.
She nearly lost her life to an overdose, but thankfully, she is recovering and seems a lot healthier.
In fact “Anyone” was written 4 days before she overdosed.
And from the super deep lyrics in the song, you can definitely feel the pain she was feeling inside.
So even though people loved her new song, people were also eager to see her talents on display at the Super Bowl.
We all knew that she had an amazing voice, but it was more about the comeback for fans.
In fact, 10 years ago, Lovato had actually spoken her Super Bowl presence into existence.
Which means that if you want something bad enough, you just have to wish for it super hard!
It got people on their feet — well, all except for three: Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and their daughter, Blue Ivy.
In a video obtained from TMZ , it was shown that they remained sitting while people around them, including their security guard, stood for the song.
The backlash towards the couple was swift.
“Beyoncé & Jay-Z (former crack dealer) sit for the national anthem because apparently the United States of America has oppressed them with millions upon millions of dollars & fans. Sounds rough. Maybe they should try another country that allows them a little more freedom & success?” added another.
Some believe they remained seated for political reasons, with the couple siding with Colin Kaepernick.
The former NFLer started silent protests by not standing during the national anthem before games.
Instead, he would kneel. “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” he said.
It should also be noted that Jay-Z recently teamed up with the NFL to be the league’s “live music entertainment strategist.”
This means that he will assist with social justice campaigns that are important to the singer and the black community.
If you’re curious about the real reason why Bey and Jay-Z didn’t stand during the national anthem, Jay-Z recently filled in the blanks.
He did so at a Q&A for Columbia University.
“What happened was, we got there, we were sitting, and now the show’s about to start,” he began.
“My wife was with me and so she says to me, ‘I know this feeling right here.’ Like, she’s super nervous because she’s performed at Super Bowls before. I haven’t.”
“So we get there and we immediately jump into artist mode … now I’m really just looking at the show. Did the mic start? Was it too low to start? … I had to explain to them [that] as an artist, if you don’t feel the music, you can’t really reach that level.”
Admittedly, he didn’t realize they were sitting until after the performance.
“So the whole time we’re sitting there, we’re talking about the performance, and then right after that, Demi comes out and we’re talking about how beautiful she looked, and how she sounds and what she’s going through, and her life — for her to be on the stage, we were so proud of her.”
He continued: “And then it finished and then my phone rang. And it was like, ‘You know you didn’t…’ I’m like, ‘What?’”
To clear up any ill-intent even further, he added, “Blue was right next to us; we wouldn’t do that to Blue and put her in that position.”
At the end of the day, a silent protest wasn’t necessary. He said that the Halftime Show itself was a powerful statement for diversity.
“If you look at the stage and the artists that we chose — Colombian [Shakira] and Puerto Rican J.Lo — we were making the loudest statement.”
“And we had … a commercial running [on] social injustice during the Super Bowl. … Given the context, I didn’t have to make a silent protest.”
In other words, no drama to be found here, folks!
Save that popcorn for later!
