It was once Lil Wayne’s desire to perform the Super Bowl LIX halftime show but not anymore. Following the snub that saw the NFL choose Kendrick Lamar over him to headline in his hometown of New Orleans, Wayne told Rolling Stone he’d never consider headlining the halftime show again. “They stole that feeling,” he tells the magazine in a new cover story. “I don’t want to do it. It was perfect.”
As Wayne explains, his disappointment about the Super Bowl is not unwarranted. He explains he was under the impression he’d secured the role of halftime performer after the NFL encouraged him to step out and be more accessible to the public ahead of the 2025 Super Bowl.
“To perform, it’s a bunch of things they’re going to tell you to do and not do, a**** to kiss and not kiss,” he explains, noting he’d even stepped out of his box to try new things. “If you notice, I was a part of things I’ve never been a part of. Like [Michael] Rubin’s all-white parties. I’m doing s*** with Tom Brady. That was all for that. You ain’t never seen me in them types of venues. I ain’t Drake. I ain’t out there smiling like that everywhere. I’m in the stu’, smokin’ and recording.”
After Kendrick was revealed to be the halftime performer, Wayne says someone at the NFL reached out and issued apology, saying they aren’t responsible for making decisions for the halftime show.
“All of a sudden, according to them, they got curved. So, I’m going to have to just settle with whatever they say,” he says.
Wayne clarifies he’s cool with both Kendrick Lamar and Jay-Z, whose company Roc Nation selects the halftime show performers.
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