The Super Bowl halftime show performer who held up Palestinian and Sudanese flags in protest during the show has spoken out about the incident in an interview with NBC News.
Zül-Qarnaįn Nantambu, 41, told the outlet he wanted to use his moment on the field to ‘highlight the human suffering.’ The Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza has killed more than 46,000 people including 13,000 children, and Sudan has been gripped in a civil war for 17 months, displacing more than 12 million people.
Nantambu said he was emboldened by rapper Kendrick Lamar’s performance and he hopes President Donald Trump would be more empathetic to suffering people, according to NBC News. Nantambu was also inspired by his Islamic faith and his love for the Palestinians and Sudanese who are suffering.
‘And I know it would invigorate their faith, seeing somebody supporting them and thinking about them on such a grand stage to bring awareness to that, to their struggles,’ Nantambu told NBC.
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Half-time performer went rogue, banned for life from NFL events
Nantambu was seen standing with the flag on the hood of a Buick Grand National GNX, the vehicle behind the name of Lamar’s latest album, ‘GNX,’ that served as a central prop in the halftime show performance. The now-infamous moment occurred after Lamar’s performance of ‘Not Like Us’ as the rapper launched into his final song, ‘TV Off.’
The moment gained significant attention on social media, where videos showed Nantambu jumping from the car and fleeing the stage while still displaying the flag. Security eventually tackled, handcuffed and removed him from the field.
Roc Nation, the entertainment company behind the halftime show, said in a statement that ‘the act by the individual was neither planned nor part of the production and was never in any rehearsal.’
The NFL confirmed Monday to USA TODAY that the person was part of the 400-member field cast and had hidden the flag on himself before the halftime show began Sunday night.
‘No one involved with the production was aware of the individual’s intent,’ the league said in a statement. ‘The individual will banned for life from all NFL stadiums and events.’
Trump attended Super Bowl, previously suggested US take over Gaza Strip
The game took place after Trump last week called for the U.S. to take over the Gaza Strip and relocate roughly 2 million Palestinians to neighboring Arab countries amid the prolonged war with Israel. As part of the proposal, which represents a major shift in Middle East policy, Trump did not rule out sending U.S. troops in Gaza to secure the territory.
Kinsey Crowley is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com, and follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley.