Kendrick Lamar has been praised for his Super Bowl halftime show, which took place with president Donald Trump in attendance.
Lamar had the honour of performing the halftime show at this year’s Super Bowl, and delivered a blistering performance at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
Whilst most were watching in anticipation of whether the rapper would carry on his Drake beef during the show (which he duly did), the 12-minute performance also included some powerful imagery which many saw as pointed references to the state of the USA.
This included Samuel L Jackson playing Uncle Sam, the personification of America, and his group of all-Black backup dancers forming a disconnected US flag.
All of this was in front of Donald Trump, who decided to become the first sitting US president to attend a Super Bowl.
Many praised the rapper for the statements he made about America during the show, and how powerful it was that he did all this with Trump watching on.
One person wrote on X: “The irony of Kendrick Lamar performing and making statements about the state of America in front of President Trump is priceless.”
Breaking down some of the symbolism in the show, another said: “Samuel L Jackson as uncle sam, the personification of America, telling kendrick his performance is “too ghetto” and then it cutting to kendrick’s all-black backup dancers arranged as the American flag all while That Man is in attendance? Kendrick i was not familiar with your game.”
A third suggested that Jackson’s portrayal of Uncle Sam will have “no doubt triggered” Trump, whilst someone else praised Lamar for ‘dissing’ the president.
Trump ended up leaving the game early, and was pictured getting back on Air Force One more than an hour before the conclusion of the Super Bowl.
Meanwhile civil rights organisation the NAACP praised Lamar for “using the biggest stage in the world to highlight America’s hypocrisy.”
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