The National Football League apologized to Lil Wayne, a New Orleans native, after Jay-Z chose California rapper Kendrick Lamar to perform during halftime at Super Bowl 59.
The NFL promptly sent a letter of apology to Lil Wayne, expressing regret for denying him the opportunity to represent his hometown during the Super Bowl in New Orleans.
Despite the NFL’s apology, Lil Wayne expressed his disappointment and stated that he would not attend this year’s Super Bowl.
NFL officials are grappling with the backlash following Kendrick Lamar’s performance of his Drake diss song “Not Like Us” during halftime.
Kendrick Lamar’s performance at the Super Bowl halftime show faced intense criticism, leading many to dub it “the worst halftime show ever.” In response to the backlash, Drake filed a lawsuit against Kendrick and their record label, UMG, alleging that Kendrick had defamed him by calling him a pedophile in a song. While Kendrick removed the explicit word from his lyrics, he retained an iced-out “A” on a chain around his neck, which he used as a reference to the lyric “A minor” from his diss track.
Skip Bayless, a close friend of Lil Wayne, criticized the NFL for succumbing to pressure from Jay-Z instead of selecting a more universally appealing halftime performer.
“The NFL promptly sent Wayne a letter of apology,” Skip reported. However, he clarified that the letter was signed by no specific individual but rather by the league on NFL letterhead.
Skip pointed out that choosing Wayne for the performance was a straightforward decision, considering his existing association with the NFL through his weekly appearances on the Sunday pregame show, ‘NFL GameDay Morning,’ on the NFL Network.
“It’s worth noting that while he makes regular appearances on the show, he has made it clear that he won’t be watching a single second of Sunday’s halftime show.”
Jay-Z has been the driving force behind the Super Bowl halftime performances since 2019. He has a reputation for being critical of rappers when selecting the performers.
Atlanta music producer Jermaine Dupri finally revealed that Jay-Z had orchestrated a way to prevent him from securing the Super Bowl job. Initially, JD had been approached with the opportunity, but Jay-Z strongly advised him against accepting it. Subsequently, Jay-Z took the job, leading to the current situation.
Jay-Z’s choices for the Super Bowl halftime performers have been widely regarded as the worst in the history of the event.
Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” Super Bowl full performance. 🔥pic.twitter.com/6id0RyFRCL
— DramaAlert (@DramaAlert) February 10, 2025
