Super Bowl Halftime Show Performer ‘Banned for Life’ After Waving Flags in Protest

The NFL confirmed that “no one involved with the production was aware of the individual’s intent.”

February 11, 2025, 2:36pm

Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images

A performer in Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show has been “banned for life” from all NFL stadiums and events after waving a Sudanese-Palestinian flag during the performance.

The protester was detained by security after unfurling the flag while standing on a car late into Lamar’s set, just after the rapper launched into his song “tv off.” The NFL told CBS News in a statement, “We commend security for quickly detaining the individual who displayed the flag. He was a part of the 400-member field cast.”

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A Protester hold a flag during Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show at Caesars Superdome on February 09, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

The league further confirmed that the person will be “banned for life from all NFL stadiums and events,” and that “no one involved with the production was aware of the individual’s intent.” The NFL said “the individual hid the item on his person and unveiled it late in the show,” with Roc Nation, the entertainment company that produced the show, confirming that the act “was neither planned nor part of the production and was never in any rehearsal.”

Police ejected the man from the stadium after he was detained, but he has not been arrested or publicly identified by law enforcement. However, the protester has self-identified on social media, posting images from the protest on his Instagram account.

Security grabs a protestor holding a Palestinian flag with the words “Gaza” and “Sudan” as US rapper Kendrick Lamar performs during Super Bowl LIX Chiefs vs Eagles Apple Music Halftime Show at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, February 9, 2025. (Photo by Chandan Khanna / AFP)

Zül-Qarnaįn Nantambu, 41, told NBC News that he wanted to “highlight the human suffering” in both Sudan and Gaza with his protest. President Donald Trump attended Sunday’s Super Bowl in New Orleans just days after he said the U.S. should seek ownership of the Gaza Strip, giving Palestinians no choice but to leave their homes there. Trump said that under his plan, Palestinians would not be able to return to Gaza.

“I hope God shifts Trump’s heart to be empathetic and compassionate to those who are suffering in Palestine and do what is right by the Palestinians,” Nantambu said. “And if he can, help the Sudanese — which I’m sure he can.” He continued, “Maybe we don’t have the military prowess to stop the war, but we can at least do what we can to help those who are afflicted by these different atrocities in these countries.”