Jay-Z Set the Record Straight On Why He and Beyoncé Remained Seated at the Super Bowl
Beyoncé and Jay-Z were spotted sitting down during Demi Lovato's performance of the national anthem at the Super Bowl. But that doesn't mean they were making some sort of statement, according to Mr. Carter himself.
During a speaking engagement at Columbia University on Tuesday evening (February 4), Jay-Z had a few words for anyone who asked about that particular narrative.
"It actually wasn't. Sorry," the mogul answered during a Q&A segment when asked if the moment was meant as a kind of statement. "It was not premeditated at all," he said.
Jay-Z and Beyoncé had been photographed remaining in their seats as Demi belted out the national anthem ahead of the big game, which many assumed to be in response to former 49ers Colin Kaepernick's 2017 "take a knee" moment that sparked a political firestorm over his protest in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
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Instead of the moment being a response to Kaepernick's original protest, however, Jay-Z explained that the move was accidental, as he and Beyoncé were simply into Demi's performance.
"So we get there, and we immediately jump into artist mode," he said. "So I’m looking at the show. ‘Did our mic start? Was it too low to start?’ ... ‘Is it too many speakers on the floor?’ So the whole time we’re sitting there and 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 sounded, and what she’s going through in her life for her to be on the stage and we’re so proud of her."
He added that the pair wouldn't have wanted to put their daughter Blue Ivy "in that position."
"If anyone knows Blue...if we told her we were gonna do something like that, you would have seen her tapping me a hundred times. She’s the kid that gets in the car and closes the door and says, ‘We there yet, Daddy?’ So she would say, ‘What time? Are we doing it?’"
So it seems that, while it appeared the pair were making a statement while remaining seated, Jay-Z attests that wasn't the case at all, as he alluded to the fact that, due to the diverse nature of the Super Bowl's talent, a "silent protest" wasn't even needed.
"We are making the biggest, loudest protest of all," he said.
