Lil Wayne Says Super Bowl Halftime Show Snub ‘Broke Me’

Lil Wayne: Not Being Chosen for Super Bowl ‘Broke Me’

Nearly a week after Kendrick Lamar was announced as the headliner of the Super Bowl Halftime show, New Orleans native Lil Wayne has admitted that not being chosen for the spot “broke me.”

“That hurt, it hurt a lot,” he said in a statement posted on Instagram. “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.” Wayne had expressed his desire to play the show multiple times over the years. The game is scheduled to take place at New Orleans’ Caesars Stadium on February 9.

Almost immediately after Lamar, a Los Angeles native, was announced as the headliner for the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime show, uproar began online over him being chosen instead of Wayne. While Lamar is arguably the greatest and most influential rapper in the world at the moment, Wayne’s legacy in music is enormous and began much earlier — back in the ‘90s when he emerged as a precocious teenaged rapper with the Hot Boyz. Although he essentially relocated to Miami years ago, he remains inextricably connected to New Orleans.

Lamar’s recent beef with Drake — whose early career was mentored by Wayne — has only increased his supremacy, especially the Drake-slamming song “Not Like Us,” which is one of the biggest hits of the year.

Complicating the situation further, Super Bowl entertainment is overseen by Jay-Z’s Roc Nation company, although the NFL and the city of New Orleans also played a role in the pick. Jay has been criticized by many people for his role in the decision, to the extent that rappers like Fat Joe and Fabolous have spoken out in his defense.