Eminem delivered a memorable performance during the 2022 Pepsi Halftime Show by taking a knee at the end of it. The statement seemingly paid tribute to former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick who, as a player had kneeled in protest of police brutality and racial injustice against Black Americans.
According to league spokesman Brian McCarthy, the NFL was aware that Eminem was going to kneel because he had made the gesture during rehearsals, The New York Times reported. The gesture came after Eminem finished performing his 8 Mile anthem “Lose Yourself.”
Kicking off the halftime show, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre delivered a medley of “The Next Episode” and Tupac’s “California Love” at California’s SoFi Stadium. Then, 50 Cent surprised the audience with a performance of his Dre co-produced hit, “In Da Club,” while mimicking the upside-down pose that he took in the original music video. A group of dancers joined 50 Cent in a makeshift club scene before the camera panned to Mary J. Blige who delivered a bouncy performance of the Dre-produced “Family Affair” before transitioning into the slow-burning “No More Drama.”
Next up, Kendrick Lamar took the stage to perform “Alright” and an intro of “m.A.A.d city” surrounded by Black men in “Dre Day” sashes.
To close out the show, Dre and Snoop reappeared onstage for “Still D.R.E” and were joined by the other halftime performers of the evening.
The Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show, which took place in the Los Angeles area for the first time in 30 years, was produced by Jay-Z and was the first-ever halftime set that was focused on hip hop. The Bengals and Rams game brought together L.A. hip hop icons Snoop, Dre and Lamar for their Big Game debut. Also joining the trio were Blige and Dre’s longtime collaborator Eminem.
Ahead of the performance, Dre said in a statement that performing at the halftime show would be “one of the biggest thrills of my career.” He added, “I’m grateful to Jay-Z, Roc Nation, the NFL, and Pepsi as well as Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar for joining me in what will be an unforgettable cultural moment.” Jay-Z added that their performances would be “history in the making.”
This is the third year Roc Nation has produced the Super Bowl Halftime Show. In 2021, The Weeknd performed, while Shakira and Jennifer Lopez co-headlined in 2020 during a performance that also featured Bad Bunny and J Balvin.
Watch the full 2022 halftime show here.
Suki Waterhouse has spoken candidly about how she found herself crying constantly after the birth of her daughter.
The singer and actress reflected on her experience as a mother more than two years after she and her partner, actor Robert Pattinson, welcomed their baby girl in March 2024.
During an interview with The Standard published on Thursday, Suki explained that motherhood has completely shifted her outlook on life.
"I think it's made me marvel at our humanness. It's so funny, even just your kid getting a fever, watching a little body recover from that, it's brought me down to what it is to be alive and I really love that," she said. "It feels very survivalist and medieval in a way, especially birth, birth is medieval."
The Daisy Jones & The Six actress, 34, shared that she was caught off guard by just how exposed and emotional she felt after giving birth to her daughter.
"I'm almost two and a half years in now, but when she was first born, I remember thinking that I can't believe everybody does this and I can't believe how vulnerable I feel," she told the publication. "I was crying all the time."
Suki continued, "It makes me cry now thinking about it. It was just... shocking."
The Notting Hill singer also admitted that she has never considered herself someone who cries easily, making those emotions all the more surprising.
"It's so f**king weird! I'm not a cryer! I'm so not an emotional person, I'm such a Capricorn. But being a mum just fed me up in such a sweet way," she stated. "It just absolutely broke open my heart, and I'm just madly in love and, despite my crying right now, I enjoy it so much and I'm so taken by my daughter and so in love with doing it with my partner and I just feel the preciousness of it very much."
Suki and Twilight actor Robert, 40, have been in a relationship since 2018 and announced they were expecting their first child together toward the end of 2023.
The pair have largely kept their romance away from the spotlight and have yet to publicly share the name of their daughter.
