Yesterday (Feb.13), Eminem, 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige and Los Angeles artists Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, and Snoop Dogg put on for hip hop during Super Bowl LVI’s halftime show. While many raved about the groundbreaking performance, there was one particular group who avoided watching it altogether.
According to Newsweek, the Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association (SCBA) based in Long Island, N.Y. boycotted the event because of Snoop Dogg‘s involvement in the show. They specifically took issue with his recently-released anti-cop song “Police,” which sees collaborator J5 Slap urge people to defend themselves against officers who are abusing their authority.
“Encouraging people to shoot police officers apparently earns you a spot as a headliner at the Super Bowl,” the Suffolk cops wrote in a statement on Facebook. “If you choose to watch the game at all, (we won’t be) halftime is a great moment to shut your TV off in honor of those men and women in blue who gave their lives for us. Thank you to Anthony A. Capetola for standing up for our police.”
In the letter, the SCBA also called for Snoop’s removal from the halftime show. “We can no longer sensationalize hurting our men in blue who protect our families with this reckless conduct,” they wrote. Despite efforts to get him nixed from the event, the rapper hit the stage alongside special guest 50 Cent and fellow headliners, putting on a show that is guaranteed to go down in the history books.
Aside from the halftime show, Super Bowl LVI was generally a joy-filled day for residents of Los Angeles. Inglewood’s own Mary Mary blessed the crowd with a gospel rendition of “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” aka the Black national anthem, L.A.’s own Jhené Aiko kicked off the event with “America the Beautiful,” and the Rams — who came out to Nipsey Hussle’s “Last Time That I Checc’d” — beat out the Cincinnati Bengals for the championship win.