On Friday morning (September 13), Lil Wayne took to Instagram Live to speak about not being selected for the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show.
In light of the Super Bowl’s upcoming hosting in New Orleans, Louisiana in February, fans and peers of the self-proclaimed Best Rapper of Alive have expressed their displeasure with the decision on social media since the announcement last Sunday. While thanking his fans for their loyalty, Lil Wayne expressed deep disappointment at not being able to perform and explained the delay in response.
Addressing his 19 million followers, the emotional Lil Wayne says: “First of all, I want to say forgive me for the delay. I had to get strength enough to do this without breaking. I’ma say thank you to every voice, every opinion, all the care, love and support out there. Your words turned into arms and held me up when I tried to fall back.”
Lil Wayne has expressed interest in performing at the Super Bowl in New Orleans multiple times since 2023. In spite of thanking the fans, Weezy never mentioned all parties involved by name after taking full responsibility for the missed opportunity.
He continued: “That hurt. It hurt a lot. You know what I’m talking about. It hurt a whole lot. 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. But y’all are fucking amazing. It made me feel like shit not getting this opportunity and when I felt like shit, you guys reminded me that I ain’t shit without y’all… and that’s an amazing reality.”
Ultimately, Weezy described the emotional impact of the snub and his plans to rebuild himself. Appearing still in disbelief, he revealed the troll the news took on him. He concluded:
“So, like I said, it broke me and I’m just trying to put me back together. 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.”
Throughout the week, New Orleans hip-hop’s biggest names spoke out about the snub. While Juvenile suggested the NFL step in, Birdman plans to have Jay-Z, head of Roc Nation and the committee that chooses halftime performers, put some “respek” on New Orleans. Others to react to the selection include Master P, Nicki Minaj, and Kendrick Lamar will perform at the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show.