Samuel L. Jackson has claimed that he didn’t really know what Kendrick Lamar‘s Super Bowl halftime show sought to portray until dress rehearsal.
Lamar’s Super Bowl performance was partly about America’s history and racial divisions. Midway through, he referenced “40 acres and a mule,” a promise made to formerly enslaved Black Americans in 1865 by Union General William Tecumseh Sherman. The pledge, later revoked after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, symbolized economic self-sufficiency for Black Americans.
The ‘Humble’ rapper’s performance incorporated powerful visual symbolism, with backup dancers dressed in red, white, and blue forming an American flag before turning their backs to each other as Lamar stood at the center.
Adding to the message, Jackson appeared dressed as “Uncle Sam,” wearing a patriotic suit and top hat while providing commentary and guiding the performance’s narrative.
But Jackson didn’t understand anything about the show until rehearsal, he told the Mad Sad Bad podcast recently.
“I didn’t know what they were doing,” he told host Paloma Faith. “It was kinda trippy because it wasn’t until dress rehearsal that when I looked up, and I looked on that stage, and I go, ‘Oh sh*t, that’s a flag. Ah, f*ck, we’re being revolutionaries.’ Because I wasn’t listening or paying attention.”
Jackson has no issues being a revolutionary, given his civil rights work over the years. Many do know him as the acclaimed Hollywood actor and film producer, but before he made it big on screen, Jackson was a civil rights activist who fought against the injustices of racism.
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Getting deeply involved in the civil rights movement while a student at the historically black Morehouse College in Atlanta, Jackson did usher at the funeral of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Something about me or my persona has put me in the right place at the right time… in a lot of different moments in my life. And I have to accept that that’s what I’m meant to be sometimes: an agent of change, whether I know it or not,” he said.
“I wanna be on the right side of history in terms of what’s going on, and sometimes it’s not by choice,” he added.
Following Lamar’s performance of Squabble Up at the halftime show, Jackson playfully antagonized him by referencing a letter from Louisiana lawmakers. The letter had urged Lamar to keep his Super Bowl performance “family-friendly,” citing concerns over his past “lewd” shows.
“Too loud, too reckless, too ghetto,” he said. “Mr. Lamar, do you really know how to play the game? Then tighten up!” Lamar responded not by challenging Uncle Sam but by delivering throughout the performance.
Once SZA came out, their segment of “Luther” and “All the Stars” were “calm,” said Jackson, which briefly satisfied him.
“Thats what America wants! Nice and calm. You’re almost there, don’t mess this… ” Jackson said before Lamar began rapping “Not Like Us.” By the end of the performance, Jackson’s defeated Uncle Sam exited the Caesars Superdome stage.
