There wasn’t any possible way that the Super Bowl would’ve passed without Jay-Z making headlines. The rapper’s partnership with the NFL drew criticism, especially since it seemed like a slight towards Colin Kaepernick. Jay even said that “we’re passed kneeling” and wanted to use the opportunity to make a change.

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When Jay-Z and Beyonce were spotted sitting down during the National Anthem, they were immediately hit with critics including Kaep who brought up Hov’s previous comments on kneeling. All of that to say, Jay-Z didn’t actually sit down as a way to protest, TMZ reports. During an appearance at Colombia University, the rapper explained that he was sitting down because he was far more focused on Demi Lovato‘s performance since Roc Nation is handling the NFL’s music and entertainment.

“We get there and we immediately jump into artist mode,” he said. “Now, I’m just really looking at the show. The mics start. Was it too low to start?” He continued to explain how he was analyzing all aspects of how Demi’s performance was going down as well as Yolanda Adams performance of “America The Beautiful” and of course, Shakira and Jennifer Lopez‘ half-time show. 

Jay-Z went onto explain that he definitely didn’t need to silently protest in any way while also joking about people thinking Blue Ivy was involved in the protest.

Peep the video here.