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The Super Bowl LVI halftime show, in the eyes of many, was just as exciting as the actual game itself, where the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20.
Similar to the game, the halftime show also had its share of controversy.
During the halftime performance, rapper Eminem took to the stage with fellow entertainers Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent and Kendrick Lamar. Eminem took a knee similar to the one Colin Kaepernick took during his stance on police brutality back in 2016.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was interviewed on 77 WABC Radio News and Talk Show and had the following to say about the rapper taking a knee during the Super Bowl:
"Let’s get right to Eminem taking a knee. Why doesn’t he go to another country? I mean, go take a knee someplace else. You know how many cops were defending him and protecting him at that game yesterday? I mean, crime is way out of control in Los Angeles. He thinks that all happened because everybody loves Eminem? The simple reality is the NFL has made a mockery out of law enforcement, particularly with its support for the cop-killing Black Lives Matter."
There had been speculation that the NFL would ask Eminem not to take a knee before the day of the big game, but those rumors were quickly squashed by Dr. Dre saying, "Em taking a knee that was Em doing that on his own, and there was no problem with that."
Super Bowl LVI ratings improved from last season
The results are in and Super Bowl LVI was a success for more than just the Los Angeles Rams. The big game, which aired on NBC Network, pulled in 112.3 million viewers.
These numbers are staggering and were the cause for an uptick of 14 percent in viewership from last year's big game, which featured Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeating Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs by a score of 31-9.
At its apex, the viewership for the event reached 167 million viewers. Streaming played a huge part with these figures as 11.2 million viewers watched the game via streaming apps (most notably NBC affiliate Peacock).
The halftime performance was also responsible for raking in 103.4 million viewers.
