Super Bowl Halftime dancer detained after flying Sudan-Gaza flag during show, won’t face charges

Kendrick LamarAndrew Sacher
Super Bowl Halftime dancer detained after flying Sudan-Gaza flag during show, won’t face charges

While Kendrick Lamar was busy making statements about America, racism, and Drake with his Super Bowl Halftime Show performance, one of his dancers apparently made a statement of their own by holding up a combined Sudanese-Palestinian flag with “Sudan” and “Gaza” written on it. According to The Associated Press, the person was detained on the field and could face charges. Roc Nation, which produced the show, claimed that the act “was neither planned nor part of the production and was never in any rehearsal.”

The NFL confirmed that the person was part of the 400-member field cast, and NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy told AP that “the individual will (be) banned for life from all NFL stadiums and event.”

Update: Fox9 reports that the person won’t face charges, according to New Orleans police.

Update 2: The person, whose name is Zul-Qarnain Nantambu, has now spoken about his act of protest in an interview with Al Jazeera. “I felt I didn’t have a choice,” he said. “As a practicing Muslim, our prophet Muhammad teaches us, if you see a wrongdoing, or you’re aware of wrongdoing, you must stop it with your hands. And if you can’t stop it with your hands, stop with your tongue. And if you can’t stop it with your tongue, try to stop it with your heart. So I had an opportunity, on a grand scale, to bring awareness to speak out against a wrongdoing.”

The flag did not seem to make its way onto the televised performance, but clips filmed by those in attendance have been making their way around social media:

Tags: Kendrick lamar, Super bowl