At half time during the recent Super Bowl in Miami, Jennifer Lopez (J.Lo) and Shakira took the stage for 14-minutes to dance and sing their way through some hits.
So far so unremarkable. But the last number apparently had something political to say as well. Because suddenly the audience were presented with lots of children sitting in cage-like orbs singing Let’s Get Loud, before escaping the ‘cages’ to sing Born in the USA just as J.Lo arrived on stage wearing an enormous shawl with the US flag on one side and the Puerto Rican flag on the other.
But what did it all mean? According to The New York Times J.Lo’s management wouldn’t give anything away, which forced people to guess instead.
I agree with those online who saw the stunt as a dig at Trump for the immigration policy that separated children from their parents after families crossed over the border. And for me the two-sided flag was a way of saying that Puerto Rico – where J-Lo comes from – is part of America.
As for the inclusion of the song Let’s Get Loud – which J.Lo started singing once the kids had stopped – to me that was a call people for to unite in opposition to Trump.
So far Trump has not reacted to the performance, but he did congratulate the Kansas City Chiefs team for winning the Super Bowl against the San Francisco 49ers. My guess is that as political protests go, this was one that did not bother him at all.