Lil Wayne has entered the chat regarding the Super Bowl Halftime show headliner. The rapper spoke out in a video days after Kendrick Lamar was announced as the main act for the annual February event. Since the announcement, several celebrities, including Nicki Minaj, Boosie, and Boosie, have advocated for Wayne to be involved in the upcoming New Orleans show.
RELATED: Nicki Minaj, Birdman, Boosie & More Celebs React To Kendrick Lamar Headlining Super Bowl LIX
Lil Wayne Shares His Super Bowl Related Disappointment
In a video shared on social media, Wayne revealed that he feels like he disappointed his fans. Additionally, he apologized for the delay in his response to the viral conversation.
“I had to get the strength to do this without breaking,” he said. “Imma say thank you every voice, every opinion, all the care, all the love out there, your words turned into arms and held me up when I tried to fall back.”
Tunechi said not being chosen as the headliner “hurt a whole lot.” However, he added that he blames himself for “not being mentally prepared for a letdown.” Again, he blames himself for putting himself in the position of thinking the Super Bowl headliner was his position.
“I thought that nothing better than that spot, and that stage and that platform in my city. So that hurt, hurt a whole lot. But y’all are f***ing amazing. It made me feel like sh*t not getting this opportunity and when I felt like sh*t you guys reminded me that I ain’t sh*t without y’all.”
Wayne reaffirmed that not getting the Super Bowl gig broke him but that he’s putting himself back together. “Thanks to all my peers, my friends, my family,” Wayne said, also thanking his athlete homies
“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,” he said at the end of the video.
Nicki Minaj, Chance The Rapper & More Celebs React To Wayne’s Post
Within 15 hours, Wayne’s video statement collected over 459,000 likes and more than 40,000 comments. Fans and celebrities like Nicki Minaj, Chance The Rapper, Lunell, Odell Beckham Jr., and Jacquees slid in the comment section to uplift and thank the rapper.
Nicki, who strongly advocated for her Young Money mentor earlier this week, penned a lengthy message. She began by letting Tunechi know that his disappointment will pass but that his impact on hip-hop culture “will remain” and stand the test of time.
Additionally, she spoke about God having Wayne’s back during this time. Minaj furthered her claims that an unnamed person in charge of the halftime show intentionally blocked Wayne from getting the gig.
“Many times our greatest & most dehumanizing TEST is just a way for God to get the glory. You were simply used in a war of egos. To ppl who are empty inside, all they have is their temporary power. Now every day, these wicked ppl are spending money to circulate the worst of you. But the Lord will nullify each & every single attempt & not only will it return to sender, it will be replaced with the best of you. You are human. They are not & never will be perfect.”
Chance The Rapper wrote, “You are the greatest and I literally don’t know where I would be without you. Thank you.”
Meanwhile, Lunell added, “Wow, this is sad and beautiful at the same time. It’s the vulnerability for me.”
Odell Beckham Jr. wrote, “It ain’t no way!!” and Jacquees added, “SWAGGED UP BRUDDA.”
Victor Cruz called Tunechi a “legend forever,” and Timbaland said the rapper is “Da greatest.”
Wayne Previously Shared His Aspirations For Booking The NFL Gig
While internet users were waiting to hear from Lil Wayne directly, fans began resurfacing previous clips of the rapper speaking about heading the Super Bowl. Earlier this year, the rapper appeared on YG’s podcast, ‘4HUNNID.’ During their chat, Tunechi revealed that he’d say yes to performing at the Super Bowl in New Orleans. At about the 23-minute mark, Wayne said:
“I will not lie to you, I have not got a call,” he shared in the February interview. “But we all praying, we keeping our fingers crossed. I’m working hard. I’m going to make sure this next album and everything I do is killer, so I’m going make it very hard for them to…I want to just make it hard for them not to highlight the boy.”
Following Kendrick Lamar’s announcement as the headliner, Wayne‘s manager and longtime engineer, Fabian Marasciullo, spoke out. Fabian vowed never to be or put Tunechi “in a position where [they] are at the mercy of someone else’s decision.”
Lamar has yet to directly address the calls for Wayne to join him on stage in February, but this week, he released his first song since dropping his Drake diss ‘Not Like Us.’
