Lil Wayne has spoken out after not landing the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show.
Next year, Super Bowl LIX takes place at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana—the city where the rapper was born and raised. Last week, Kendrick Lamar was announced as the 2025 performer.
“That hurt, it hurt a lot… I blame myself for not being mentally prepared for a letdown, and for just automatically mentally putting myself in that position,” Lil Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr, told viewers during an Instagram livestream .
“I thought there was nothing better than that spot, that stage, that platform, in my city,” the five-time Grammy Award winner continued. “So it hurt, it hurt a whole lot, but y’all are f****** amazing. It made me feel like s*** not getting this opportunity, and when I felt like s***, you guys reminded me that I ain’t s*** without y’all. And that’s an amazing reality.”
Lil Wayne performs during Lil Weezyana 2019 at the UNO Lakefront Arena on September 7, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The rapper recently spoke out about not getting the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show gig.
Erika Goldring/Getty Images
“It broke me, and I’m just trying to put me back together, but my God have you all helped me,” he added. “Thanks to all my peers, my friends, my family, my homies on sports television and everybody repping me, I really appreciate that. I really do. I feel like I let all of y’all down by not getting that opportunity, but I’m working on me. And I’m working. So, thank you.”
Newsweek reached out to Lil Wayne’s team via email for additional comment.
His remarks quickly made the rounds on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday, with accounts @big_business_ and @PopCrave each sharing the video. At the time of publication, @big_business_’ clip had over 313,000 views and @PopCrave’s had over 85,000.
In the comments, fans shared their support for the hitmaker.
“He should have been there NO DOUBT. Any argument otherwise is ridiculous,” @Sweeegu said.
“Damn i feel really bad, it seems like they probably promised him something behind the scenes,” @nobydy661 wrote.
“It’s great to see Lil Wayne’s resilience and appreciation for his supporters. Keep pushing forward!” @sherazali1993 added.
“Kudos for him for being so honest! It’s nothing wrong with having big dreams and he would have deserved that!,” @CryptoElfie chimed in.
On September 8, Lamar made his halftime show announcement via social media.
“Super Bowl LIX. New Orleans. February 2025. #AppleMusicHalftime,” he captioned the video posted to Instagram and X.
Jay-Z, whose company Roc Nation co-produces the halftime show, said in a statement that “Kendrick Lamar is truly a once-in-a-generation artist and performer.”
“His deep love for Hip-Hop and culture informs his artistic vision,” his statement continued. “He has an unparalleled ability to define and influence culture globally. Kendrick’s work transcends music, and his impact will be felt for years to come.”
Rapper Cam’ron supported Lil Wayne on Monday’s episode of It Is What It Is.
“Listen, I love Kendrick Lamar… I think he’s one of the top artists of this generation, period. Hate the selection,” he said. “It’s in New Orleans and you don’t get Lil Wayne? That’s what we doing? You don’t get Lil Wayne in New Orleans for the Super Bowl?… There’s no reason why Lil Wayne should not be performing in the Super Bowl.”
Master P shared his thoughts via Instagram.
“Salute to @kendricklamar for performing at the halftime show at Super Bowl LIX.. well deserved, he’s one of the hottest music artists in the world and has one of the biggest songs right now,” he posted to the platform.
“As Ambassador of Entertainment in the City of New Orleans I have to agree with the fans that @liltunechi #LilWayne should be a part of this celebration as well. He’s one of the greatest Hop Hop artists alive, still relevant and he’s a New Orleans native. Let’s not miss this cultural moment in the South. Life is too short! We have to give our legends their flowers while they are here. @masterpmasterclass #Godisgood Change starts with us. @nfl @jayz @mayorcantrell.”
Earlier this year, Lil Wayne expressed interest in performing at the Super Bowl halftime show.
“I will not lie to you. I have not got a call or nothing. We praying. We keeping our fingers crossed,” the “A Milli” artist said during an appearance on the 4HUNNID podcast. “I’m working hard. I’m gonna make sure this next album and everything I do is killer. I wanna just make it hard for them not to holler at the boy.”
