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Sports columnist and commentator Skip Bayless recently shared that he chose to skip the Super Bowl halftime show, headlined by Kendrick Lamar, out of respect for Lil Wayne.
For the unversed, the Super Bowl halftime show courted controversy after the NFL and Roc Nation announced Kendrick Lamar as the headliner of the game in New Orleans in September 2024.
This caused an uproar on social media as people believed that Lil Wayne deserved the spot as a New Orleans native. On February 9, Skip Bayless chose to show his support for Lil Wayne ahead of the Super Bowl, posting on his X page that it was "wrong" not to have Wayne headline the show.
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"I AM NOT WATCHING THIS HALFTIME SHOW, OUT OF RESPECT FOR MY BROTHER LIL WAYNE, WHO OBVIOUSLY SHOULD BE PLAYING IN HIS HOMETOWN OF NEW ORLEANS. THIS IS JUST SO WRONG," he wrote.
"Wayne is New Orleans" — Skip Bayless explained his dismay at Kendrick Lamar headlining the Super Bowl
Skip Bayless had previously spoken about his displeasure at the NFL and Roc Nation for passing over Lil Wayne to choose Kendrick Lamar for the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show.
On February 5, the sports commentator uploaded a video on his X profile, wondering why Wayne was not chosen as the headliner when he was from New Orleans.
He also added his speculations about why Kendrick Lamar was chosen, alleging that Jay-Z, who owned Roc Nation, was the sole decision maker in picking Lamar as the headliner due to the popularity of Not Like Us.
“Wayne is New Orleans. This Super Bowl obviously will be played in New Orleans, so why wasn’t Wayne chosen? I don't know for sure, but this is what I think. Jay-Z runs the entertainment department for the NFL, so I'm assuming this was his decision and his alone. I’m guessing it came down to Wayne and Kendrick and Taylor Swift for halftime entertainment," Bayless said.
He continued:
"But, obviously, Kendrick’s ‘Not Like Us’ was on its way to being the Song of the Year, capped off at the Grammys. And obviously, it’s yet another Drake diss track. And obviously, Wayne and Drake are closely associated.”
Bayless claimed the NFL apologized to Lil Wayne after he expressed disappointment over not headlining the Super Bowl in his hometown. He said the alleged letter thanked Wayne for his support and added that Wayne refused to watch the halftime show.
The sports commentator also claimed the NFL's announcement hit Wayne hard, with the rapper allegedly unable to work properly. In the video, Bayless added that the rapper's mother was flying to New Orleans to support her son during the show.
Lil Wayne did not attend the Super Bowl
On February 5, Lil Wayne took to his Instagram Story to reveal to his fans that he would not attend the Super Bowl, despite it happening in his home city. The rapper said he was working on "something very special," adding:
“Y’all know I’m not going to be there this week, which means I guess there’s a seat to fill. Shout out to New Orleans, but I’ve been working on something very special. I got something exciting coming for you Thursday, the 6th. Until then… I’m chillin’.”
The controversy surrounding the halftime show headliner divided the internet, with many claiming that Wayne deserved the spot. The rapper also addressed the situation on an Instagram video at the time, saying that the announcement, "hurt, it hurt a whole lot.”
While Kendrick Lamar did not directly respond to Wayne following the latter's Instagram video, he referenced the incident in his song, Wacced Out Murals, from his November 2024 album, GNX.
"Used to bump 'Tha Carter III,' I held my Rollie chain proud/ Irony, I think my hard work let Lil Wayne down," Kendrick Lamar rapped in the song.
While Lil Wayne uploaded a cryptic X post at the time that he, "shall destroy if disturbed," he revealed that he and Kendrick Lamar seemingly made up during his December 2024 appearance on The Skip Bayless Show. Wayne said that he called Kendrick Lamar and spoke to him, asking him to "kill it" during his Super Bowl performance.
In other news, Kendrick Lamar's 13-minute Super Bowl halftime performance was filled with surprise appearances from Samuel L. Jackson, Serena Williams and Mustard. The rapper performed 11 songs during his set, including his Drake diss track, Not Like Us.
