Everyone seems thrilled about Kendrick Lamar headlining the Super Bowl LIX halftime show. Fresh off a dominant night at the Grammys — where “Not Like Us” earned him Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance and Best Music Video — anticipation for his performance is at an all-time high.
Everyone except Skip Bayless, as he and Lil Wayne, are like two peas in a pod. Wayne is skipping the Super Bowl in his hometown of New Orleans, believing—like many in the hip-hop community—that Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, which produces the halftime show, snubbed him.
The fact that Wayne won’t headline the halftime show in The Big Easy tears Bayless apart.
“Yes, Lil Wayne is my brother, but anyone can see, this is just so wrong,” said an exacerbated Bayless. “So, dirty, rotten wrong. Just so unfair. Come on, Wayne is New Orleans. And 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…
“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. And, so what? So what? Wayne is New Orleans.”
Lil Wayne not headlining the Super Bowl halftime is … just … so … wrong. pic.twitter.com/r19b5EsAjL
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) February 5, 2025
According to Bayless, the NFL immediately sent Wayne a letter of apology.
“From nobody in particular, just from the league in NFL letterhead,” he explained. “A letter that thanked him for his years of supporting the league, not just the Packers — his favorite team — but supporting and promoting the NFL, in general, which he has. I mean, he makes weekly appearances on the NFL Sunday pregame show, NFL GameDay Morning on the NFL Network. But, he will not play Sunday’s halftime show, and he definitely won’t watch a second of Sunday’s halftime show.”
Don’t worry! According to Bayless, he’ll still watch the game, but not the halftime show—not one second of it.
“When the news first broke, it hit Wayne hard,” Bayless added. “He didn’t feel like doing anything for several long days and nights. He’s better now. But, his mom, ironically, is coming from New Orleans out here to Los Angeles this week just to be with her son, to be around Wayne, just in case he needs a little bit of emotional support.
“This is just so wrong.”
And while Bayless might be outraged, the Super Bowl halftime show was seemingly never about soothing his or Wayne’s pride.
