The rift between Jay-Z and Colin Kaepernick has deepened after the rapper took an unscripted swipe at the former NFL quarterback during a Yankee Stadium concert, prompting Kaepernick to accuse him of masking a "guilty conscience" over his ties to organisations with poor records on race relations. The pair were once seen as allies in the fight against racial injustice, but their relationship fractured after Jay-Z's Roc Nation partnered with the NFL — the league widely seen as having blackballed Kaepernick over his anthem protests — to run the Super Bowl Halftime Show and its Inspire Change initiative.

Tensions trace back to 2019, when Jay-Z said society had "moved past kneeling" onto "action," drawing criticism given Kaepernick remained unsigned by any team. The two also diverged over Target after the retailer scaled back diversity initiatives: Jay-Z struck a deal to sell an exclusive edition of his album there, while Kaepernick refused to stock his upcoming memoir at the chain. At his Yankee Stadium shows this summer, Jay-Z referenced Kaepernick's NFL collusion settlement and non-disparagement clause in an improvised verse, prompting Kaepernick to respond in a televised NBC interview with Lester Holt, arguing that public backlash over the NFL deal still haunts Jay-Z years later.