Eminem took the knee at the Super Bowl half-time show after performing his Oscar and Grammy-winning track, Lose Yourself, despite being told not to.

In a display of defiance against the NFL, the rapper took the knee at the end of his performance.

He was joined on stage by Dr Dre, 50 Cent, Mary J Blige, Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar.

The 49-year old Not Afraid rapper had mentioned the idea of kneeling during his performance but had been asked to avoid doing so.

In his short medley, he performed a snippet of ‘Forgot About Dre’ as well as ‘Lose Yourself’.

At one stage he dropped to one knee in the style that has become symbolic of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The form of protest was brought to the NFL by quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Eminem’s move came amid widespread reports that he and fellow headliners Dr Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J Blige, Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent were being heavily censored from making any political statements.

Fans flocked to Twitter to comment on his action, with many hailing him.