Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance was interrupted by a protester who stormed the stadium with a Palestinian and Sudanese flag.
The protester was chased off the stage and eventually tackled by three security guards in suits, who dragged the man from the field.
Video of the incident shows the protester refused to get to his feet and was dragged away on his knees as Lamar continued his performance, unbothered by the scene below.
The words ‘Gaza’ and ‘Sudan’ were printed onto the flag, which incorporated both the Sudanese and the Palestinian flag.
The protester held it up as he jumped into a car used in the performance, on the stage and sprinted across the stadium.
It is understood the protest never made it onto television screens, and it wasn’t immediately clear how he managed to breach the security in place to get on the field.
The incident comes as Lamar’s performance was slammed as the ‘worst halftime show ever’ after he hit the stage at the Caesars Superdome.
Fresh off multiple Grammy wins, the 37-year-old rapper perfomed his hits during the showdown between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Despite Drake recently suing his and Lamar’s record label, Universal Music Group, over the controversial song Not Like Us, which describes Drake as a ‘certified pedophile’, Kendrick still went on to perform the song.
Kendrick Lamar ‘s Super Bowl halftime performance was interrupted by a protester who stormed the stadium with a Palestinian flag
The protester was chased off the stage and eventually tackled by three security guards in suits, who dragged the man from the field
Video of the incident shows the protester refused to get to his feet and was dragged away on his knees as Lamar continued his performance, unbothered by the scene below
Kendrick Lamar was slammed by fans for having the ‘worst halftime show ever’ as he hit the stage at the Caesars Superdome for his Super Bowl halftime performance in New Orleans on Sunday
The rapper was introduced by Samuel L. Jackson and performed a medley of his hits. Later in the performance he was joined by SZA.
It comes after Lamar said he was aiming to infuse his Los Angeles hip-hop flavor into New Orleans while staying true to his storytelling roots during his halftime performance.
‘Being in the now and being just locked-in to how I feel and the energy I have now, that’s the L.A. energy for me,’ he said Thursday at a press conference hosted by Apple Music.
‘That’s something I wanted to carry over to New Orleans and for the world to see. This is me. This is Kendrick Lamar, 37 years old, and I still feel like I’m elevating, I’m still on a journey.’
Ahead of the show when asked what viewers should expect, Lamar said: ‘Storytelling. I think I’ve always been very open about storytelling through all my catalog and my history of music. And I´ve always had a pᴀssion about bringing that on whatever stage I’m on.’
Security escorts out a protestor holding a Palestinian flag with the words “Gaza” and “Sudan”
Kendrick Lamar ‘s Super Bowl halftime performance was interrupted by a protester who stormed the stadium with a Palestinian flag
Video of the incident shows the protester refused to get to his feet and was dragged away on his knees as Lamar continued his performance, unbothered by the scene below
The LA native showcased his lyrical prowess as he started out the performance on top of a car
Fresh of his Grammy wins, the rapper, 37, didn’t seem to carry that momentum into his performance during the showdown between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs
Lamar performed as a guest artist with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent and Eminem in 2022.
On Sunday, he became the first solo hip-hop artist to headline the halftime show.
‘It reminds me of the essence and the core response of rap and hip-hop and how far it can go,’ he said.
‘It puts the culture at the forefront, where it needs to be and not minimized to just a catchy song or verse. This is a true art form, so to represent it on this type of stage is like everything that I´ve worked for and everything that I believe in as far as the culture.’
