The Super Bowl Pepsi Halftime Show went down on Sunday (February 13) with maestro Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar taking centerstage.
Right before Dr. Dre played the few first notes from 2Pac’s “I Ain’t Mad At Cha” on the white baby grand piano, Slim Shady took a knee in solidarity with former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Social media erupted with rumors that the National Football League had prohibited Eminem from doing it, but The New York Post confirmed that neither he nor any of the players had been subjected to such a rule. Even so, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani did not appreciate the gesture and called Eminem out on the Rudy Giuliani Show.
Giuliani said on Monday (February 14): "Let's get right to Eminem taking a knee." "Why doesn't he go somewhere else?" he asked. Go take a knee somewhere else. How many police officers were protecting him and defending him at the game yesterday? There are so many crimes happening in Los Angeles these days."
"He believes that all happened because everyone loves Eminem?" he continued. "The simple truth is the NFL has made a mockery of law enforcement with its support of cop-killing Black Lives Matter."
Even though Rudy Giuliani may not have liked Eminem's socio-political stance at the Super Bowl, there were many people who applauded him. There were other moments during the show that probably infuriated Giuliani as well.
Snoop Dogg's blue rag sweatsuit, which could possibly be interpreted as "gang-related," and Still D.R.E.'s controversial lyric "still not loving police," ended the roughly 15-minute performance. Organizers avoided censorship of either to avoid a "divisive cultural moment."