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NEW ORLEANS — A performer who was part of Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show was detained by security after waving the Sudanese flag and Palestinian flags together with the words “Sudan” and “Gaza” written on them toward the end of the performance, the NFL said.
The NFL identified the person, who was dressed in black like other dancers on the field, “as part of the 400-member field cast.”
“We commend security for quickly detaining the individual who displayed the flag,” the league said. “He was a part of the 400-member field cast. The individual hid the item on his possession and unveiled it late in the show. No one involved with the production was aware of the individual’s intent.”
A representative for Roc Nation, which produced the show, said “The act by the individual was neither planned nor part of the production and was never in any rehearsal.”
New Orleans police and Homeland Security Investigations directed NBC News to the NFL security team for comment.
A representative for Apple Music, which sponsors the halftime show, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The incident appeared to happen during the last song, “tv off.” Photos and video of the moment showed the person holding the flag up while he stood on the back of a black Grand National car that was featured throughout the performance.
He then jumped off the stage and jogged around the field for about 20 seconds before he was tackled and detained. After the lights went back on, he was walked off the field.
The incident comes a day after another round of prisoner exchanges between Israel and Hamas amid a weekslong ceasefire in their war that has so far seen the release of a number of Israeli hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, as well as and much-needed aid being sent into Gaza, and as a bloody civil war continues to rage in Sudan.
Rebecca Cohen reported from New York, Jesse Kirsch reported from New Orleans.
Emilie Dorn, Katie Distler and Maria Piñero contributed.
