The NFL issued a prompt apology to Lil Wayne after the announcement that Kendrick Lamar would headline the Super Bowl halftime show last year.
Many were left discontent when Lil Wayne was not given the opportunity to lead this year’s halftime spectacle in New Orleans, especially given his strong ties to the city where he grew up.
And to add to the controversy, Kendrick’s performance at the Superdome was heavily criticized by viewers who were left underwhelmed on Sunday night.
Critics lambasted the Not Like Us artist for what they deemed ‘the worst halftime show ever,’ particularly citing his performance of a famous diss track aimed at rival rapper Drake.
Prior to Sunday’s show, sports commentator Skip Bayless expressed his anger that Lil Wayne had been snubbed for the New Orleans gig, while claiming the NFL issued an apology to him back in September after offering it to Kendrick.
Bayless, who is good friends with Lil Wayne, said on his YouTube show: ‘The NFL immediately sent Wayne a letter of apology. From nobody in particular, just from the league on NFL letterhead.
The NFL sent a letter of apology to Lil Wayne after not inviting him to perform at the Super Bowl
Fans slammed Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show as ‘the worst in history’ on Sunday night
‘A letter that thanked him for his years of supporting the league, not just the Packers, his favorite team, but supporting and promoting the NFL, in general, which he has.
‘I mean, he makes weekly appearances on the NFL’s Sunday pregame show, ‘NFL GameDay Morning’ on the NFL Network. But he will not play Sunday’s halftime show, and he definitely won’t watch a second of Sunday’s halftime show.
‘He will watch the game, just not the halftime show. Not one second.’
Bayless also revealed that the snub had a devastating effect on Lil Wayne, who was struggling to cope with the setback.
‘When the news first broke, it hit Wayne hard,’ the 73-year-old continued. ‘He didn’t feel like doing much of anything for several long days and nights. He’s better now.’
Lil Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr, recently opened up on the disappointment at not being chosen to perform at a Super Bowl in his beloved New Orleans.
Lil Wayne was devastated after not being chosen to perform in his home city of New Orleans
Kendrick’s Super Bowl performance did not go down well with the majority of fans on Sunday
‘I blame myself for not being mentally prepared for a letdown and for just automatically mentally putting myself in that position,’ he said on an Instagram Live stream.
‘I thought there was nothing better than that spot, that stage, that platform, in my city. So it hurt, it hurt a whole lot.’
Kendrick, who swept up another five Grammys earlier this month, didn’t seem to carry that momentum into his performance in New Orleans on Sunday night.
The 37-year-old started on top of a car at the Superdome before aiming a dig at arch-nemesis Drake, who recently sued his and Lamar’s record label, Universal Music Group, over the controversial Not Like Us diss song, in which he’s referred to as a ‘certified pedophile’.
Despite the lawsuit, Kendrick still performed the song but took the word ‘pedophile’ out of his lyrics.
He referenced the legal battle with Drake over the insult by telling the crowd in Louisiana: ‘I want to perform their favorite song, but you know they love to sue.’
The Not Like Us rapper performed his conttroversial diss track about arch-rival Drake
Acting legend Samuel L. Jackson introduced his medley of hits on the night at the Superdome
Tennis icon Serena Williams made a shock dancing cameo as Kendrick performed Not Like Us
Kendrick couldn’t resist delivering two brutal jibes about the Canadian artist, including ‘Say Drake, I hear you like them young’ and ‘trying to strike a chord and it’s probably a minor.’
He also wore a big silver chain pendant with a small letter ‘a’, which was seemingly another reference to the ‘A minor’ lyric in his contentious diss track.
Acting legend Samuel L. Jackson, dressed as ‘Uncle Sam’, introduced the rapper’s medley of hits on the night, with R&B singer SZA featuring as a special guest.
Tennis icon Serena Williams, who previously dated Drake before ending their romance on sour terms, also made a shock dancing cameo during the performance.
However, fans were left unimpressed by Kendrick’s halftime show at the Super Bowl, taking to social media to blast it as one of the worst in history.
‘I genuinely can’t tell if I’m being biased against Kendrick but I think this is the worst halftime show I’ve seen in a minute,’ one user said on X.
But fans were heavily critical of the half time show, branding it one of the worst in history
‘I thought The Weekend was bad but Kendrick Lamar took that spot! Worst half time show ever!’
‘So far the best part of the halftime show is Samuel L Jackson,’ another complained.
‘Somehow Kendrick is worse than the game itself.’
While another concluded: ‘This half time show at The Super Bowl by Kendrick Lamar is hot garbage… Worst of all time…’
