Eminem made a statement on Sunday during the Super Bowl LVI halftime show by taking a knee on the stage, and there are mixed reports on whether the NFL had tried to stop the rapper from using a protest move they've banned on the field.
Kneeling became a very controversial topic in the NFL in 2016, after former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeled during the national anthem to protest racial injustice and police brutality. Since then, many other players have taken a knee in solidarity with Kaepernick's protest.
But how did they feel about Eminem doing it while all eyes were on him in the halftime show? According to a report from Puck, "the league nixed a plan by Eminem to kneel, Colin Kaepernick-style."
However on the other side, an NFL spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the league was already 'aware' of Eminem's intentions during the show after watching practice performances during the week.
"That report was erroneous," NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said in response to the report the NFL wasn't going to allow Eminem to kneel.
"We watched all elements of the show during multiple rehearsals this week and were aware that Eminem was going to do that," McCarthy said.
Eminem joined Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar on stage for the highly-anticipated performance at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. Rapper 50 Cent also made a surprise appearance during the show.
After performing a couple of his hit songs, including "Lose Yourself," Eminem took a knee for about 50 seconds on stage.
According to the Puck's report, a source said that Dr. Dre was frustrated in planning the show and the performance was 'disgustingly censored' by the NFL. The artists censored their lyrics and did not curse during the performance.
Additionally, "organizers also flagged something that Snoop Dogg was set to wear as possibly appearing gang-related," the Puck reported.
Despite the controversy, the show appeared to live up to the expectations of fans, with some already calling it the greatest Super Bowl halftime show of all time.
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