Jay-Z says he wasn’t protesting when he sat during the national anthem at the Super Bowl.
While speaking Tuesday at Columbia University, the rap mogul was asked if the fact that he, Beyoncé and their daughter Blue Ivy were sitting during “The Star-Spangled Banner” was to “convey a signal.” He said no, he was just working — as his company Roc Nation served as the NFL’s “live music entertainment strategist” for the event, overseeing the performances.
“It actually wasn’t. Sorry,” Jay-Z (real name: Shawn Carter) said. “It was not premeditated at all.”
He said that he and Beyoncé “immediately jumped into artist mode as the festivities on the field kicked off. “Did I tell you Yolanda Adams came to perform?’ … We’re talking. Now I’m really just looking at the show. So I’m looking at the show. Did our mic start? Was it too low to start? We added a bunch of sound… ‘[Are there] too many speakers on the floor? … So the whole time we’re sitting there and we’re talking about the performance.”