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Jay Z on Why He and Beyonce Sat During the National Anthem

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Jay Z and Beyonce

After much speculation, JAY-Z has explained why he and Beyonce sat during the national anthem. During an interview at Columbia University, JAY-Z explained that sitting wasn’t a political move, it was simply because they were in awe of Demi Lovato’s performance.

“What happened was, we got there, we were sitting, and now the show’s about to start. My wife was with me and so she says to me, ‘I know this feeling right here.’ Like, she’s super-nervous because she’s performed at Super Bowls before. I haven’t.” said JAY-Z.

He went on to say, “…we get there and we immediately jump into artist mode … now I’m really just looking at the show. Did the mic start? Was it too low to start? … I had to explain to them [that] as an artist, if you don’t feel the music, you can’t really reach that level.”

While Jay and Beyonce continued to critique Lovato’s performance it wasn’t until it was over that he got a phone call with someone alerting him that he didn’t stand for the anthem, which he didn’t even realize he hadn’t done.

Blue [Ivy] was right next to us, we wouldn’t do that to Blue and put her in that position,” said JAY-Z. He ended by saying that due to the halftime performance he didn’t need to make a political statement because Jennifer Lopez, Shakira and a commercial during the Super Bowl about social injustice spoke for him.

What do you think of JAY-Z’s explanation?


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