Lil Wayne sounds off on being snubbed for Super Bowl LIX halftime show in New Orleans: ‘It hurt a lot’

Rapper Lil Wayne is weighing in on not being selected to perform at the halftime of Super Bowl LIX in February 2025, which is scheduled to take place in his hometown of New Orleans. In an emotional video that was posted to his Instagram account, Lil Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Carter Jr., stated that “it hurt a lot” not being tabbed as the Super Bowl LIX halftime performer, and it “broke” him.

“That hurt. It hurt a lot. You know what I’m talking about. It hurt a whole lot,” the rapper said. “I blame myself for not being mentally prepared for a letdown. And for automatically mentally putting myself in that position like somebody told me that was my position. So I blame myself for that. But I thought that was nothing better than that spot and that stage and that platform in my city, so it hurt. It hurt a whole lot.”

Lil Wayne did add that he has received a massive amount of support from his family, friends, and fans since the announcement was recently made official that fellow rapper Kendrick Lamar was receiving the honor.

“So, like I said, it broke me and I’m just trying to put me back together,” Lil Wayne said. “But my God, have you all helped me. Thanks to all of my peers, my friends, my family, my homies on the 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.”

The iconic rapper, who is a diehard Green Bay Packers fan, admitted in February 2024 that he really wanted to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show in his hometown.

“I will not lie to you, I have not got a call,” Lil Wayne said on YG’s 4Hunnid podcast. “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.”

Super Bowl LIX will mark the 11th Super Bowl to take place in New Orleans. The Super Bowl was last held in New Orleans back in 2013 when the halftime show featured Beyonce and Destiny’s Child.