Dancer who waved Palestine flag during Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl won’t face charges

11 February, 2025

A protestor holds a Palestinian flag with the words "Gaza" and "Sudan" at Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl Halftime Show

The dancer who waved a Palestine and Sudan flag during Kendrick Lamar‘s Super Bowl Halftime Show will not face any charges over the stunt, but has been given a lifetime ban from NFL stadiums and events.

At the end of the performance last Sunday (February 9), a member of Lamar’s live crew unfurled a banner combining the Palestine and Sudan flags, with the words “Sudan” and “Gaza” written on it.

He then jumped off the stage and ran across the field, waving the flag around. The man was subsequently chased down by security before eventually being tackled to the ground and escorted off the field.

In a statement to NBC, an NFL spokesperson said: “We commend security for quickly detaining the individual who displayed the flag. He was a part of the 400-member field cast.”

Now, the NFL has confirmed that the unidentified protester was a member of the crew that had gone rogue.

“The individual hid the item on his possession and unveiled it late in the show,” it said. “No one involved with the production was aware of the individual’s intent.”

Roc Nation, which produced the Halftime Show, corroborated this report in a separate statement, claiming that the stunt “was neither planned nor part of the production and was never in any rehearsal”.

The New Orleans Police Department initially said that “law enforcement [was] working to determine applicable charges in this incident”.

It has since been reported that the performer will not face any criminal charges for displaying the flags. However, he has been handed a lifetime ban from NFL stadiums and events (via Rolling Stone).

The incident came shortly after President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal for the US to “take over” Gaza and remove much of its Palestinian population. Trump was in attendance at the game in New Orleans, which saw the Kansas City Chiefs go up against the Philadelphia Eagles.

During a recent press conference at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the President said the US would “take over the Gaza Strip” with “a long-term ownership position”.

Trump estimated that about 1.8million of the almost-2.3 million Palestinians living in Gaza would have to be relocated to turn what he described as a “hell hole” into “the Riviera of the Middle East”.

He called the Gaza Strip a “demolition site”, saying: “You’re talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing.”

A ceasefire was called between Israel and Palestine last month. The decades-long conflict was brought to the forefront of mainstream attention last October, with many musicians calling for a ceasefire.

Last year, George The Poet accused Kendrick Lamar of being “a non-revolutionary cosplaying as a revolutionary” during an interview with The Guardian.

“[He is someone] who’s been silent about very important things at very important times,” he said. “And now that he has a little catty moment, we’re acting like hip-hop’s back? I don’t want to be part of that.”

During his Super Bowl performance, Lamar warned: “The revolution about to be televised, you picked the right time but the wrong guy.”

NME has ranked the set at Number Three in the 10 best Super Bowl Halftime Shows in history: “[Lamar’s] triumphant appearance, which is the latest peak in his current tidal wave of success, featured an unreleased track, a handful of cuts from his latest album ‘GNX’ and largely avoided the biggest anthems of his career.”

The show came shortly after the rapper won five awards at the Grammys 2025, including Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year for his Drake diss song ‘Not Like Us’.

He surprise-released his sixth and latest album, ‘GNX’, last November. The record earned a glowing five-star review from NME, while ‘Not Like Us’ was crowned NME‘s second best song of 2024.

In other news, Lamar and SZA have announced a joint UK and European stadium tour after performing live together at the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, online streams of ‘Not Like Us’ have increased by 430 per cent following the show.

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