A lot of controversies erupted after it was revealed via video footage that Jay-Z and Beyoncé didn’t stand up while the national anthem was sung by Demi Lovato at the Super Bowl this week. It seemed like nearly everyone had an opinion on the pair, and the media had already condemned their actions without knowing the full story.
Jay-Z decided to put the rumors to rest. After being asked if he and Beyoncé were making a statement by sitting down, he said, “It actually wasn’t. Sorry. [If I wanted to make a statement] I’d tell you. … I’d say, ‘Yes, that’s what I’ve done.’ I think people know that about me.”
Jay also went on to say the moment was purely about connecting with what Demi was experiencing as an artist. He said that when the pair arrived at the Super Bowl, Beyoncé was reflecting on the three separate times she’s performed there—in 2004 when she sang the national anthem, and when she performed at halftime in 2013 and 2016.
He said, “She says to me, ‘I know this feeling right here.’ Like, she’s super nervous because she’s performed at Super Bowls before. I haven’t. So we get there and we immediately jump into artist mode. …Now I’m really just looking at the show. Did the mic start? Was it too low to start? … I had to explain to them [that] as an artist, if you don’t feel the music, you can’t really reach that level.”
The two were also caught up in talking about how proud they were that Demi had pulled through her near-fatal overdose and was now rocking the anthem at the Super Bowl. “We’re talking about how beautiful she looked and how she sounds and what she’s going through and her life — for her to be on the stage, we were so proud of her. And then it finished and then my phone rang. And it was like, ‘You know you didn’t [stand up].’ I’m like, ‘What?”
And finally, he shut down any arguments by pointing out that they would never put their daughter, Blue Ivy, in that kind of media situation. “We wouldn’t do that to Blue and put her in that position.”
Source : https://www.littlethings.com/jay-z-explains-super-bowl/