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Lil Waynedropped some MAJOR shade in a Rolling Stone interview. The rapper, who graces the cover of the latest issue, says the NFL fumbled the bag by passing him up for the Super Bowl halftime show in his hometown of New Orleans.
Wayne told the mag hes done chasing that Super Bowl dream. They stole that feeling, he said, making it crystal clear hes over it at this point. I dont want to do it. It was perfect. And yall, he didnt even bother watching Kendrick Lamars performance at the Caesars Superdome on Feb. 9. Instead, he was busy playing pool with Lil’ Twist.
The Young Money founder expressed:
Every time I looked, it was nothing that made me want to go inside and see what was going on.”
Spilling more tea, Wayne admitted he went all out to try and secure the halftime spot. He even says he was doing things that would usually be out of his character, such as rubbing elbows at Michael Rubins all-white parties and kicking it with Tom Brady.
To perform, its a bunch of things theyre going to tell you to do and not do, a**** to kiss and not kiss, he shared. You aint never seen me in them types of venues. I aint Drake. I aint out there smiling like that everywhere. Im in the stu, smokin and recording.
The magazine also noted that Wayne told their publication in a 2023 interview that he was hopeful of performing at SB in NOLA.
When Kendrick was announced as the headliner in September, Wayne hopped on IG Live and said he blamed himself for not being mentally prepared for a letdown. At Lil Weezyana Fest, he said the performance was ripped away” from him. Meanwhile, there was an intense uproar from fans and his industry friends, including Nicki Minaj, who were very vocal about the NFLs decision. Nicki, in particular, stood DOWN for Wayne and pushed some of that blame onto Jay-Z. Hov, through Live Nation, serves as the NFLs live music entertainment strategist and co-producer of the NFL halftime show, which selects performers.
Needless to say, Kendrick and Waynes fans were divided. Some were happy for K-Dot while others considered it a slap in the face for Weezy. The Be Humble rapper tried to smooth things over, name-dropping Wayne on his ‘GNX’ album with the line, I think my hard work let Lil Wayne down. Wayne, being the class act he is, said on ‘The Skip Bayless Show’ that he and K-Dot talked it through and he wished him well.
Despite working things out with Kendrick, however, Wayne still wasnt showing up to the Super Bowl in New Orleans. He made that clear on IG, saying, Yall know Im not going to be there this week. Just a week after dodging the sports event entirely, he made a surprise appearance at the ‘Saturday Night Live’ 50th anniversary special instead. IKTR.
Elsewhere, the A Milli lyricist also touched on that infamous 2020 photo he took with Donald Trump that had the internet in a chokehold. Back in October of that year, Wayne had social media GAGGING when he dropped the pic on his social media and mentioned having had a great meeting to discuss criminal justice reform. The post sparked controversy and drew considerable criticism. But Wayne didnt sweat it, recalling how he enjoyed his lil’ kiki with the President.
My mama woulda been mad if I aint smile. That might have been the only backlash I would have worried about, he said. Wayne described Trump as an a**hole of a wisecracker, whose antics had the rapper laughing non-stop. “Aint take nothing serious. Literally in there saying s**t like, What do we have to do again?’ S**t, I forgot.'”
