Jay-Z said he and wife Beyoncé were not making a political statement when they remained seated during the U.S. national anthem at Sunday’s Super Bowl.
“I’d tell you,” the rap star said. "I’d say, ‘Yes, that’s what I’ve done.’ I think people know that about me.”
During a Q&A at Columbia University on Tuesday night, Jay-Z was asked if the couple’s decision to stay in their seats while Demi Lovato performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” was “meant to convey a signal.”
“It actually wasn’t. Sorry,” he replied. “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.”
Jay-Z, a producer of NFL entertainment, continued: “So the whole time we’re sitting there, we’re talking about the performance, and then right after that, Demi comes out and we’re talking about how beautiful she looked, and how she sounds and what she’s going through, and her life — for her to be on the stage, we were so proud of her. And then it finished and then my phone rang. And it was like, ‘You know you didn’t …’ I’m like, ‘What?’”
On Sunday, it was assumed by many that the couple was showing solidarity with Colin Kaepernick. But, the music mogul said he and Beyoncé “didn’t have to make a silent protest.”