Eminem reportedly wanted to kneel during his Super Bowl LVI halftime show spot, but ran into a problem about it.
The league reportedly made sure that Eminem and his fellow rappers Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Dr. Dre, and Kendrick Lamar wouldn’t do anything too controversial to make sure their show can appeal to the widest possible audience. Dre also reportedly had a “back and forth” with league officials over the lyrics to some of his biggest hits.
According to Eriq Gardner of Puck reports, the NFL told Eminem no on taking a knee in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick because they wanted to avoid a “divisive culture war moment.”
The report added that Snoop Dogg was asked not to wear particular articles of clothing that appeared to be “gang-related.”
Sources told Gardner that Dre put up most of the $7 million budget himself and even bought an extra SoFi Stadium box for his friends, but that did not mean he didn’t have to worry about the NFL watching over his shoulder.
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Since the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show, when Justin Timberlake exposed part of Janet Jackson’s breast, the NFL has planned the halftime shows to make sure things do not get out of hand. Since 2004, the biggest controversial moment at a halftime show came in 2012, when M.I.A. raised her middle finger while performing “Give Me All Your Luvin” alongside Madonna.
The league showed how much they do not play by suing her for $16.6 million. Over two years after the show, the league and M.I.A. reached a confidential settlement, and the terms have never leaked.
