Hip Hop mogul Jay-Z has denied claims that he, Beyoncé and their 8-year-old daughter Blue Ivy were making a political statement by remaining seated during the national anthem performed by Demi Lovato at the Super Bowl on Sunday.
The couple stirred speculation earlier this week after TMZ shared an exclusive video showing the Carters glued to their seats while their bodyguard and attendees around them stood up.
BBC reports that Jay-Z got the opportunity to clarify this during his Columbia University lecture on Tuesday, where he insisted that they were not staging a silent protest, but that they were admiring Demi.
“We were talking about how beautiful she looks and how she sounds and what she's gone through in her life for her to be on the stage and we're proud of her.”
He also added there was no need to stage any form of protest, as the diversity among the performing artists was “the biggest, loudest protest of all”.
In 2016, Colin Kaepernick dominated global news headlines for staging a silent protest during the Super Bowl to protest against racial inequality and police brutality, New York Times reported.
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