Eminem took a knee after his solo set at the 2022 Super Bowl halftime show, and Rudy Giuliani has officially given his opinion on the situation.
“Let’s get right to Eminem taking a knee,” the former mayor of New York City and member of Donald Trump’s legal team said during a 77 WABC segment on Monday (Feb. 14). “Why doesn’t he go to another country? Go take a knee someplace else. You know how many cops were defending him and protecting him at that game yesterday? I mean, crime is way out of control in Los Angeles. He thinks that all happened because everybody loves Eminem?”
“The simple reality is that the NFL has made a mockery out of law enforcement, particularly with its support for the cop-killing Black Lives Matter,” he continued, before shifting his attacks to another Super Bowl headliner, Snoop Dogg, who recently released a song called “Police” with J5 Slap, which features the opening lyrics, “All you n—-s out there / Take your guns that you using to shoot each other / And start shooting these b—- a– motherf—ing police.”
“It’s allowing Snoop ‘Kill Police’ Doggy Dogg to perform, in spite of the fact that just a few days ago, he put out a song – if that’s what he does,” Giuliani said. “I don’t know what he does. To me, it’s kind of like [low mumbling/growling noise]. Here’s a good thing. He used the N-word and – I don’t even understand it. You know? Doesn’t have a big effect on me. The only way I knew the lyrics of the song kept using the N-word and encouraging people to kill police officers is because someone gave me the lyrics. I would not have been able to understand what he said. But, having said those words, he didn’t belong on that stage.”
“What kind of country are we becoming? What kind of country do our elites want us to be when people are encouraging cop killing,” he concluded. Billboard has reached out to Eminem and Snoop Dogg’s reps for comment.
77 WABC's @RudyGiuliani provides his input on Eminem's decision to take a kneel during the halftime show last night.
Do you agree with Eminem's actions?
VOTE HERE: https://t.co/8OfePvQkzf#Rudygiuliani #eminem #snoopdogg #maryjblidge #kendricklamar #50cent #rudygiulianishow pic.twitter.com/Chg07pVSZ1
— TalkRadio 77 WABC (@77WABCradio) February 14, 2022
During Sunday’s (Feb. 13) Super Bowl performance, after he wrapped up “Lose Yourself,” Eminem dropped to one knee, seemingly in solidarity with former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. The ex-San Francisco 49ers QB started a movement in the NFL when he started kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality in the United States.
Eminem has referenced Kaepernick in his lyrics a number of times, including in his viral cypher at the 2017 BET Hip Hop Awards, where he rapped, “F— that, this is for Colin, ball up a fist!” Then in 2020, Em released a pair of songs from Music to Murdered By – Side B that referenced the QB too, including “These Demons” (“No cap, still riding with Colin”) and “Black Magic” (“But I ain’t gonna stand for that sh–, like Kaep for the national anthem”).