Earlier this week, we reported that rapper Jay-Z and his wife Beyonce were spotted sitting down while Demi Lovato sang the national anthem before the Super Bowl. Now, Jay-Z is speaking out to try and explain why they were sitting, and he’s claiming they were not trying to make a political statement.

Jay-Z visited Columbia University yesterday for a Q&A session, and TMZ obtained footage of him being asked if he was trying to send a message by sitting during the anthem.

“It actually wasn’t,” he said bluntly. “Sorry.”

Jay-Z went on to say that he was so focused on taking in the show, which he had helped to put together, that he had simply forgotten to stand. He added that Beyonce also forgot to stand because she was focused on what Lovato must be thinking, explaining that his wife had “performed at the Super Bowl before, and I haven’t.”