Nearly a week after Kendrick Lamar was announced as the headliner of the Super Bowl Halftime show, Lil Wayne is finally breaking his silence.
Lil Wayne, a longtime champion and emblem of New Orleans, shared his disappointment at being passed over for Kendrick Lamar to perform at the city’s 2025 Super Bowl halftime show. “That hurt, it hurt a lot,” Wayne said in an Instagram video.
“I thought there was nothing better that spot, on that stage, on that platform. It broke me, but I’m just trying to put myself back together.”
Despite being a local icon, the rap legend revealed he was “not mentally prepared for a let-down” when he found out that Kendrick Lamar would be taking the stage instead.
Many fans had hoped Lil Wayne would take the Super Bowl stage this time around, especially with the event coming to New Orleans.
In the emotional video, the rapper, born Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., also thanked fans for their unwavering support.
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“Your words turned into arms and held me up when I tried to fall back,” Wayne said.
Despite the heartbreak, Lil Wayne credited his fans for pulling him out of a dark place.
“And when I felt like sh-t, you guys reminded me that I ain’t sh-t without y’all. And that’s an amazing reality. It broke me, and I’m just trying to put me back together.”
The rapper never mentions the Super Bowl during the video, but it’s clear that this is the subject.
Lil Wayne’s Disappointment Stems From Previous Comments of Wanting To Play At The Super Bowl
An emotional Lil Waye took to Instagram to record a video telling fans how devastated he was when he learned that he was not selected to perform at the Super Bowl Halftime Show in New Orleans.
Insead, Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar was chosen to perform at the Super Bowl Halftime Show, which will be held on Feb. 9 at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
Lil Wayne has stated repeatedly that he’d wish to play the halftime show.
“I will not lie to you,” he said in February. “I have not got a call or nothing. We praying. We are keeping our fingers crossed. I’m working hard. I’m’a make sure this next album and everything I do is killer.”
Lil Wayne also said in December 2023 that he would not bring out any guests if he got the job. “I earned that moment, so I’m not bringing anyone”—short of Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, or a “New Orleans jazz great,” he said.
