Britney Spears tuned into the massive Super Bowl LVI halftime show on Sunday, and took to Instagram on Monday to give a special shout-out to Slim Shady in particular.
“Wow!!! @Eminem last night at the Super Bowl...he should have had way more time…he was everything to me when I was younger and it was so weird in the first two seconds I saw him onstage last night I felt like I was 17 again!!!” Spears wrote on Instagram alongside a video clip of Eminem’s set. “It’s honestly kinda scary how certain artists and music can do that…we are so lucky to live in a world where music can give us hope…identity...acceptance...and love!!!”
Eminem’s portion of the halftime show stirred up conversation when he took a knee following his performance of “Lose Yourself,” showing support for Colin Kaepernick.
A report was shared prior to the performance on Sunday claiming Eminem was explicitly asked by the NFL not to take a knee, but a rep for the league later denied this claim to the New York Post. “That previous report was erroneous. We watched every rehearsal this week and this was included,” a rep for the NFL told Complex.
The CEO of Roc Nation, which co-produced the halftime show, told the Los Angeles Times it was a tough call partnering with the NFL since it faced criticism over its handling of Kaepernick’s protests.
“And it was a difficult decision for us,” CEO Desiree Perez said. “They were being accused of all these terrible things that we stand against. We had to say, ‘Wow, they’re being boycotted by artists.’ … But we obviously decided for going after what we feel is right and what we think we can do to make change. Let’s say for a second that this was a cynical move by the NFL—they just wanted to use us. OK. As long as we can go in and do things they would not normally do—if we can reach people that we normally wouldn’t reach with a message—then that for us is success.”
Kaepernick last played in the NFL in 2016 as part of the San Francisco 49ers, where he kneeled during the National Anthem in protest of police brutality and the oppression of Black people. He became a free agent in 2017 and hasn’t returned to the league since.
If you missed the Pepsi Super Bowl halftime show by Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, and 50 Cent, check out the full performance right here.
