Last night (February 9), one of Kendrick Lamar’s backing dancers was dragged off stage and detained by security at the Super Bowl after unveiling a Sudanese and Palestinian flag during Lamar’s half-time performance.

The NFL clarified that this person, who has not yet been publicly named, was “part of the 400-member field cast” but explained that he had hidden the item on his possession and that “no one involved with the production was aware of the individual’s intent”. The NFL later added that the protester will be “banned for life from all NFL stadiums and events”.

Roc Nation, the company that produced Lamar’s show, also released a statement confirming that the stunt wasn’t planned and hadn’t featured in any rehearsal. Lamar himself hasn’t commented on the incident, which happened during a performance of “tv off”, his final song of the night. He has not previously commented on either Gaza or Sudan.

Footage shows the person first unveiling the two flags, joined together and with the words “Sudan” and “Gaza” written on them, while standing on top of a black car which featured throughout the performance. He then jumps down and starts running around the field, managing to do this for quite a long time before getting bundled off by security.

The stunt took place as Sudan remains gripped in a deadly civil war between the Sudanese military and paramilitary group RSF, in which an estimated 61,000 people have been killed and millions displaced.

In Gaza, meanwhile, hostage exchanges are ongoing amid a fragile ceasefire, but Donald Trump, who was present at the game, just last week announced his attention to resettle Gaza’s civilian population – a plan which would amount to ethnic cleansing. This comes after the near total destruction of the area’a infrastructure and as the official death toll – according to the Gaza health ministry – stands at 61,709 (still likely to be a significant undercount), including 17,9491 children.