"You are one of Kendrick’s biggest inspirations" — Internet reacts to Lil Wayne saying he was "hurt" after Super Bowl halftime show snub

Lil Wayne finally broke his silence about the 2025 Super Bowl dispute. On September 8, the NFL, along with Apple Music and Jay-Z's Roc Nation, revealed that Kendrick Lamar would headline the halftime show in New Orleans in February.

However, the decision garnered controversy after many in the hip-hop industry argued that Lil Wayne should have been the headliner given the rapper was a New Orleans native. Rappers like Nicki Minaj and Birdman blamed Jay-Z for the decision, citing that HOV allegedly snubbed Wayne due to bad blood between them.

On September 12, Lil Wayne finally came forward to address the situation, claiming he felt hurt by the alleged snub. In the video uploaded to Instagram, he also thanked everyone for the overwhelming support. He said:

“Thanks to all my peers, my friends, my family and my homies on the sports television, and everyone repping me. I really appreciate that, I really do. I felt like I let all of you down by not getting that opportunity but I'm working on me and I'm working. Thank you."

The video tugged at his fans' heartstrings, who left words of encouragement in the comments section. One comment also reminded Wayne that Kendrick Lamar had previously called the New Orleans rapper one of his biggest inspirations.

A comment on Lil Wayne's video (Image via @liltunechi/Instagram)

Many asked the rapper not to blame himself for the situation, adding that other opportunities awaited the rapper.

Comments on Lil Wayne's video (Image via Instagram/@liltunechi)

Others said that the decision was purely business, adding that it seemed right that Lamar was chosen as the headliner given his successful year. A few wondered whether the rapper might invite Lil Wayne on stage for a performance.

Comments on Lil Wayne's video (Image via Instagram/@liltunechi)

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"It made me feel like s**t" — Lil Wayne about not being chosen to headline the Super Bowl halftime show

The Super Bowl halftime show is a musical extravagance with the best artists performing on stage every year. In 2024, Usher headlined the show, following his predecessor Rihanna, who performed while pregnant with her second child in 2023. On September 8, Kendrick Lamar was announced as the headliner for the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show.

This was met with mixed responses, with many saying that Lil Wayne deserved to be on the stage as a rapper hailing from New Orleans. The rapper had previously expressed an interest in performing at the halftime show. In a February interview on the 4Hunnid podcast, the rapper said he was eagerly waiting for a call from the NFL.

“I will not lie to you, I have not got a call. But we all praying, we keeping our fingers crossed. I’m working hard. I’m going to make sure this next album and everything I do is killer, so I’m going make it very hard for them to … I want to just make it hard for them not to highlight the boy,” he said.

Following the backlash after the 2025 headliner was announced and his peers rallying around him for support, Lil Wayne took to social media to address the issue on Thursday night. He said that the alleged snub made him feel like s**t, adding:

“It made me feel like s**t, not getting this opportunity, and when I felt like s**t, you guys reminded me that I’m not s**t without y’all. That's an amazing reality, Like I said, it broke me but I'm just trying to put me back together."

Rappers like Nicki Minaj and Birdman called out Jay-Z for allegedly snubbing Wayne due to personal feelings about the New Orleans rapper. The two had a complicated history but laid their rivalry to rest in recent years. Jay-Z also has a longstanding rivalry with Birdman, who signed Wayne to his Cash Money Records label when the rapper started his career in 1998.

Amid the controversy, many fans pointed out that the halftime headliner is not chosen based on the city they're from. Others argued that while Jay-Z's Roc Nation and the NFL curated a list of artists based on popularity, genre, and artistic performance, the final decision was made by the host city.