Jennifer Lopez posted a powerful statement about her Super Bowl LIV halftime performance on her Instagram on Monday night.
Lopez, who performed Sunday night with Shakira, shared a video of the moments just before they went on stage.
“All I want my girls, the little girls on stage with me and all over the world to know is how to use their voices and be proud of everything they are,” Lopez said in the caption. “Other people can try to build walls, keep us out or put us in cages. We are proud to recognize that all of us together are what makes this beautiful country truly great.”
The video shows Lopez getting ready for the show and leading her team in a prayer before taking the stage. The edited clip ends as she makes her entrance at the beginning of her set.
Both Lopez and Shakira said before the show that they planned to use the Super Bowl stage to spread a message of unity.
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“Two Latinas doing this in this country at this time is just very empowering to us,” Lopez told reporters at a press conference.
“It’s very important for us to convey a message of unity and also to show what a relevant force the Latin community is in this country,” Shakira added.
A political message?
Lopez’s post Monday night and her comments about walls and cages seemed to confirm speculation that she was sending a political message with her set.
At one point, there were child performers in glowing spheres that many interpreted as a reference to the immigrant children and youth being held at U.S. detention centers.
Lopez’s daughter, Emme, 11, was one of the kids in the spheres, and she sang a slowed-down version of her mom’s 1999 hit, “Let’s Get Loud.”
Emme then joined her mother and sang a few bars of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” as Lopez unfurled a feathery flag that featured the American and Puerto Rican flags on it.
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