A brief protest by a performer at Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show unfurled a flag emblazoned with the words Sudan and Gaza, two wars in the Middle East that have killed tens of thousands of people.

Standing on the hood of a Buick Grand National GNX (after which Lamar named his most recent album, “GNX”), in a sea of dancers, a man clad in black sweats unfurled the Palestinian and Sudanese flags.

No one involved with the production was aware of the individual’s intent,” the N.F.L. said in a statement about the protest during Kendrick Lamar’s show.

The NFL said the person was part of the 400-member field cast and had hidden the flag on himself before the halftime show began Sunday night.

During the halftime show at the 2025 Super Bowl in New Orleans last night, a backing dancer for Kendrick Lamar staged a protest some may have missed on the TV broadcast.

Roc Nation, the entertainment company which produced the halftime show, said the act “was neither planned nor part of the production and was never in any rehearsal.”

Performer at Super Bowl halftime waves Gaza and Sudan flags in protest over wars. Detained by security, faces a lifetime NFL ban.

The man who pulled out a Sudanese and Palestinian flag during Kendrick Lamar's halftime show said he felt compelled to use his moment at the Super Bowl to "highlight the human suffering."