American rapper, Marshall Bruce Mathers III, known professionally as Eminem, stole the show and got fans screaming his name when he took the knee during the Super Bowl halftime show, after his performance of ‘Lose Yourself.’
The songwriter and record producer was praised for having the courage to take the action despite entreaties from the National Football League to shun it.
Slim Shady was on stage with fellow stars, Dr Dre, Mary J Blige, Kendrick Lamar and Snoop Dogg – with surprise cameo appearances from 50 Cent and Anderson Paak.
UK Metro reports that the eccentric singer had ignored plea from the NFL not to take the knee before the show, something he didn’t listen to as he took a moment to kneel at the end of his track.
The famed star kept his head in his right hands on stage, while the show continued around him.
The reaction was instant as fans stormed Twitter to praise him for the show of solidarity.
One of the early comments from @abdnys read, “Eminem defies the NFL and takes a knee during his half time #SuperBowl. I am proud of him.”
‘Eminem is the man. Great to see him take the knee after his performance. #SuperBowl #PepsiHalftime,’ another fan added.
@zackdreams says, “Eminem took the kneel despite the NFL telling not to. Just another reason to love Eminem #SuperBowl.’
‘Eminem kneels after NFL asked him not to. Don’t tell a goat how to behave #SuperBowl,’ another agreed.
‘#SuperBowl NFL told #Eminem you can’t kneel he said f**k your rules I do what I want you can’t cancel me #HalfTimeShow #GOAT,’ a follower said.
Although it was widely reported that NFL bosses had warned Eminem and his fellow performers not to make take the knee, New York Post quoted the league reps saying the allegation was untrue.
Taking a knee to protest against racism was popularised by NFL player Colin Kaepernick, who famously decided to kneel rather than stand for the national anthem before a game in 2016.
He was said to have insisted at the time that, ‘I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of colour,’ he said at the time.
‘To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way
‘There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.’
His courageous stance was emulated by other sports professionals who began to follow suit, including the England team throughout the recent Euro 2020 tournament, and Lewis Hamilton ahead of F1 races.
