Photo: Lili-Ann Eldeiry on Unsplash

Controversy has sparked amid Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show. But does the Super Bowl have a responsibility to remain apolitical despite Donald Trump’s inclination to censorship?

Grammy winner Kendrick Lamar had only 13 minutes to send warning signs to fellow Americans. Nine boxes illuminated in the centre of the field. X and o icons flashed in the corners of the box, mirroring a game’s controller. Samuel L. Jackson, as the next national icon Uncle Sam, introduced the artist’s Super Bowl halftime show.

Perhaps that was enough to spark controversy in Donald Trump’s America. The audience were at a standstill as the rapper said: “The revolution is about to be televised. You picked the right time but the wrong guy.” At that moment, the stage was a powerful tool for change and no longer about the artist’s rap squabble with Drake.

Behind it all

But how appropriate is an NFL funded protest? Well, with black and ethnic minority Americans having their voices marginalised for centuries, when is it not appropriate for celebrities to make a stand and be that voice for those who are categorically unheard?

The rapper’s performance was full of symbolism that passive consumers may have missed. Lamar said, ‘40 acres and a mule’. Following the Civil War, black Americans were promised land to farm under the guise of the American Dream.

Yet, this was never received. Instead, former slaves were coerced into a life of poverty and sharecropping. Lamar followed, saying, ‘This is bigger than the music’. For the artist, his rap is a voice of frustration and betrayal of black Americans by not only the American Dream but by those who uphold American systems of power.

During the show, back-up dancers stood in a divided formation of the American flag, which alludes to the disconnection of beliefs in the US, which we witnessed in the race for the White House between Trump and Kamala Harris.

Reactions: Should the halftime show remain apolitical from now on?

Some TikTok users have taken to the platform to express that the performance perpetuated a stereotype of ghettoisation. But I think this was intentional by Lamar. The narrator, Uncle Sam, even says, ‘This is too ghetto’, which reinforces how rap music has been subject to prejudice that it is violent, drug-related, and gang-orientated. Lamar challenges this by demonstrating stereotypical ‘ghetto’ examples like crip walking.

It was an interesting choice to have Kendrick Lamar perform the halftime show. NFL fans seemed to understand the choice of artist either. The Grammy-nominated artist has been viral since his string of diss tracks dropped in 2024. He went on to win a Grammy for Not Like Us, which he teased throughout the halftime show. But NFL fans have taken to online platforms in protest of the performer.

According to Sports Bible, a fan has claimed: “I actually shut it off. I have no desire to see somebody I’ve never heard of and listen to them.” Another said: “Bizarre decision by the NFL to have some guy come out and lethargically mumble a bunch of songs that 90 percent of the NFL audience has never heard.”

Not to assume their political leanings or music choices but their lack of understanding of the performance’s deeper message reflects America’s passive consumption of artistic activism. I do not think Lamar intended to give what the audience wanted, but the very opposite of that.

This is what happens when national companies choose artists for the halftime show to fulfill commercial demand. K. Dot fans know that the artist’s lyricism has stood for black empowerment.

Super Bowl commercial performances are not new to activism

What might shock people is that this isn’t the first time the stadium has become a political field ground. In 2016, a former NFL player, Colin Kaepernick, decided to kneel when the national anthem was played to take a stance against black oppression and police brutality in America. Or when Beyoncé’s halftime show was performed with backup dancers dressed as members of the Black Panther Party of the 1960s. 

These dancers were characterised by all black outfits, wearing berets that sat perfectly on their afro hairstyle. Like Lamar’s Celine flared jeans, nodding to the revolutionary clothing style of black Americans in the 1970s, clothing can be an indispensable instrument in activism. 

Beyoncé’s performance caused a public outcry as people felt the superstar was attacking police officers when the halftime show ‘should’ have been apolitical. Nonetheless, is it that surprising that Lamar’s halftime show sent similar messages during the resurgence of Trump? 

Why K. Dot’s performance matters: the masked censorship

On the day of Trump’s inauguration, he signed an executive order Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship, which allows for free speech of American citizens and the right of access of information. Yet, he is taking a backward approach. An example of his ‘dictatorship style’ governing is apparent in the book banning of novels that discuss racism and LGBTQ+ topics.

Education and rights organisation PEN American claimed that ‘books are under profound attack’ since tens of thousands of books have been banned between 2023 and 2024 in the US. The Trump administration has actively ignored complaints about the prohibition of novels with discussions of race, gender and sexuality despite making loose promises of negating censorship. 

Trump’s elected figures of the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission and other governing bodies prove to be for censoring speech. 

American activist Evan Greer told Al Jazeera that Trump is turning the FFC into ‘the online speech police.’ This was clear in Trump’s initial backing of the TikTok ban in the US. 

The disguised censorship extends beyond race. The Trump administration has eradicated words which refer to diversity and inclusion from federal health websites. LGBT, transsexual, and nonbinary are among those words. This creates misinformation and causes a gap in healthcare between the privileged and those who are vulnerable to discrimination. 

Science research is being filtered through the National Science Foundation. Terminology like women, diversity, trauma, bias, institutional, disability, ethnicity, minority, and oppression amongst others are flagging up as words that violate Trump’s executive order. 

The untelevised revolution

The bigger picture is how a protester joined the ‘revolution’ which was not televised. Zül-Qarnain Nantambu has been banned for life from NFL stadiums and events for holding up a flag in support of Palestine and Sudan.

The conflict in Gaza has displaced 1.9 million people with many of those people being displaced up to ten times already. Since the ceasefire, many Palestinians have attempted to return home.

The nature of the flag waving is subject to discussion. State and federal governments do not regulate broadcast sports every day so there is some sort of autonomy of the leagues. However, professional sports organisation must not air anything that interferes with US’s commercial activity.

Trump has proposed a plan to take over Gaza and displace the remaining 2.2 million civilians to Jordan or Egypt. His property development plans are forcing out vulnerable people post-ceasefire which defeats the point of the conflict. The displacement of Palestinians in Gaza would be an ethnic cleansing for the sake of an expanded American empire.

Lamar’s performance is an example of the control that the media has over public displays of protest at time when it is needed more than ever. What we know now is the protester was not part of the act so this could be the only reason as to why Nantambu has been detained for intruding on the show but is it hard to ignore the link between Lamar’s heavy symbolism and reality.

NFL intend on future halftime shows being only for entertainment purposes. But is this ethical to restrict artist’s creativity and passion when it is a part of their identity and beliefs? Next time they should opt for an artist who will uphold the desired political agenda.