Lil Wayne is making it clear he’s no longer interested in performing at the Super Bowl after being passed over for the 2025 Halftime Show in his hometown of New Orleans.
In a new Rolling Stone cover story published Thursday, the rap legend opened up about the sting of being overlooked in favor of Kendrick Lamar, who headlined the show at Caesars Superdome in February. “They stole that feeling,” Wayne said. “I don’t want to do it. It was perfect.”
Wayne said he was led to believe he was a frontrunner for the performance and even stepped out of his usual routine to show face at major events like Michael Rubin’s all-white party and appearances with Tom Brady. “You ain’t never seen me in them types of venues. I ain’t Drake,” he said. “I’m in the studio, smoking and recording.”
He admitted he didn’t even bother watching Kendrick’s Super Bowl set. “I was playing pool with Lil Twist,” he said. “Went outside to smoke. Every time I peeked at the TV, there was nothing that made me want to go inside and see what was going on.”
And while he emphasized that there’s no bad blood with Kendrick, he didn’t hold back his critique. “They coulda had some music. But instead they got rappin’. They f–ked up.”
After the NFL announced Kendrick as the 2025 headliner, Wayne posted that he was “hurt” by the decision. He now says the league later apologized and claimed the final decision wasn’t in their hands. “All of a sudden, according to them, they got curved,” he said. “So, I’m going to have to just settle with whatever they say.”
Jay-Z, through Roc Nation, has overseen Super Bowl Halftime Show selections since 2019. Wayne says he’s still cool with both Hov and Kendrick, but as far as the Big Game goes, he’s no longer interested.
