Beyoncé and JAY-Z attended the Super Bowl yesterday (February 2) with their daughter Blue Ivy in tow — and were seen remaining seated throughout the American national anthem.
As Demi Lovato sang "The Star-Spangled Banner," Bey, Jay and Blue stayed in their seats.
The move has been interpreted as a sign of solidarity with former NFL player Colin Kaepernick's 2016 protests. He famously sat, then knelt during the national anthem in protest of police brutality and racial inequality in America.
Kaepernick became a free agent in 2017 but was never signed by another team. He accused the NFL of colluding to keep him out of the league but retracted his complaint and reached a settlement with the league last year.
Beyoncé and JAY-Z have previously been vocal in their support of Kaepernick, though JAY-Z came under fire when he joined forces with the NFL last year.
In addition to his support for Kaepernick, on the 2018 the Carters' track "APESHIT," JAY-Z rapped: "I said no to the Super Bowl / You need me, I don't need you."
He has since defended his new partnership with the NFL.
"No one is saying he hasn't been done wrong. He was done wrong," Jay told the New York Times. "I would understand if it was three months ago. But it was three years ago and someone needs to say, 'What do we do now? — because people are still dying.'"
Given the couple's complicated relationship with the NFL, the fact that they stayed seated during the national anthem has received a wide range of extreme reactions. See some of those below.
As Demi Lovato sang "The Star-Spangled Banner," Bey, Jay and Blue stayed in their seats.
The move has been interpreted as a sign of solidarity with former NFL player Colin Kaepernick's 2016 protests. He famously sat, then knelt during the national anthem in protest of police brutality and racial inequality in America.
Kaepernick became a free agent in 2017 but was never signed by another team. He accused the NFL of colluding to keep him out of the league but retracted his complaint and reached a settlement with the league last year.
Beyoncé and JAY-Z have previously been vocal in their support of Kaepernick, though JAY-Z came under fire when he joined forces with the NFL last year.
In addition to his support for Kaepernick, on the 2018 the Carters' track "APESHIT," JAY-Z rapped: "I said no to the Super Bowl / You need me, I don't need you."
He has since defended his new partnership with the NFL.
"No one is saying he hasn't been done wrong. He was done wrong," Jay told the New York Times. "I would understand if it was three months ago. But it was three years ago and someone needs to say, 'What do we do now? — because people are still dying.'"
Given the couple's complicated relationship with the NFL, the fact that they stayed seated during the national anthem has received a wide range of extreme reactions. See some of those below.
