Jack Harlow’s listless performance drew negative reviews from viewers

There are halftime musical performances. Then, there’s Prince at Super Bowl XLI. On the other end of the spectrum, there’s Carl Lewis. On Thanksgiving Day 2023, another entry was made in the history of halftime shows. Unfortunately for Jack Harlow, this performance landed on the wrong end of the spectrum.

Harlow, a 25-year-old rapper who went platinum with his debut album, Thats What They All Say in 2020, was tabbed to perform at halftime during Fox’s coverage of their game this year, which featured the Detroit Lions against the longtime rival Green Bay Packers. He’s one of three artists performing on Thanksgiving, as Dolly Parton and Steve Aoki will perform in Dallas and Seattle this evening.

So Harlow had a standard to set. Fortunately for both Aoki and Parton, clearing the bar won’t take much.

To call the performance “lifeless” might actually be an understatement. While the Ford Field crowd had no problem bellowing out their voices during the Lions game, the tens of thousands in attendance sounded like they’d rather be elsewhere.

If the listless crowd during Harlow’s hollow performance wasn’t enough to convince you how this went, maybe the chorus of viewers at home will convey the message.

This jack harlow set budget was like 36 dollars

— chris long (@JOEL9ONE) November 23, 2023

Feels like Jack Harlow had no chance with that set design.. he was walking on plastic at one point

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 23, 2023

Some local elementary school seeing that jack Harlow stole their holiday play set. pic.twitter.com/19qhYxhfGm

— Andy Nesbitt (@anezbitt) November 23, 2023

Series I White & Blue Flower Shapes, by Georgia O'Keeffe, 1919 pic.twitter.com/pH24FtyOa7

— ArtButMakeItSports (@ArtButSports) November 23, 2023

Some couldn’t help themselves, wishing for a finer time in life.

We used to live in a society pic.twitter.com/mI3G2eRBKR

— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) November 23, 2023

Others were more emphatic with their thoughts on it.

this might be the worst halftime performance ive ever seen. they put no effort into any of this, id rather watch a commercial

— charles (“you look good” – andy reid) mcdonald (@FourVerts) November 23, 2023

It was truly a mystifyingly bad halftime performance. It’s not to bag on Harlow entirely: He wasn’t helped out by the set or the lack of oomph to his performance, either.

Rate the Jack Harlow halftime show. https://t.co/h2wgLbheKn

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 23, 2023

Fox happened to delete their post of the performance, which may say it all without saying it all.