Jay Z Explains Why He & Beyonce ‘Protested’ & Remained Seated At The Super Bowl

American power couple Beyonce and Jay Z along with their daughter remained seated during a recital of the National Anthem. Following great criticism, Jay Z decided to address the backlash.

“We immediately jumped into artist mode,” he explained during his visit at the Columbia University. “I’m really just looking at the show. The mics start. Was it too low to start?”

He added, “The whole time, we’re sitting there, we’re talking about the performance and right after that, Demi comes out and we’re talking about how beautiful she looked and how she sounds and what she’s going through in her life for her to be on the stage, we’re so proud of her.”

Jay also insisted a “silent protest” wasn’t necessary because they already made a stir by the diverse artists they chose to perform during the halftime show, including J. Lo, Shakira, Bad Bunny, J Balvin and J. Lo’s daughter Emme Maribel Muñiz.

“It just happened,” he noted. “I didn’t have to make a silent protest. If you look at the stage, the artists that we chose, Colombian [Shakira], Puerto Rican J. Lo … we were making the biggest loudest protest of all.”