Back in February, Kendrick Lamar performed at Super Bowl LIX, delivering a halftime show that featured SZA, Serena Williams, Samuel L. Jackson, and plenty of shade directed at a certain Canadian rapper. Some though, were not too happy with Lamar’s performance; according to The Hill, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reportedly received 125 complaints regarding the show, lambasting its political iconography, the rapper’s lyrics, and the choreography’s “vulgarity.” You can see where this is going.
Most complaints noted Lamar’s performance wasn’t appropriate for all ages or was politically provocative. A viewer from Lenox, IL bemoaned that their children should not have experienced the show: “My younger kids did not need to see and hear this!” That viewer also complained about “the language and gestures.”
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Another complaint also noted profanity and gestures as the source of their ire. “For the next Super Bowl, please consider hiring musical entertainment that is family friendly and not socially or politically centered… It would be a nice change to have entertainment that truly shows what America should be; family, country, decency and respect.”
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That viewer continued, “It is tiresome to have to send children out of the room during what should be a family event due to possible vulgarity and inappropriate language/gestures.”
Some even called the show “racist” against white people. An Ocean City, MD resident said, “They get away with it but if it was all white it would be a different story. The halftime show should have both Black and white and be appropriate for everyone.” A Daytona Beach, FL viewer continued with a similar opinion: “I want to know why is it that there was not one white person involved???? I felt discriminated against and why was Uncle Sam Black when Uncle Sam is white?” Uncle Sam, is notably personified in a 1917 poster as a white man. Uncle Sam, however, is not real.
It should be noted that Lamar’s performance, and all previous Super Bowl Halftime Shows, are censored for profanity. The FCC receives complaints every year for Super Bowl halftime performers; according to Rolling Stone, Rihanna’s 2023 show drew 100 pages of grievances. Jennifer Lopez and Shakira’s 2020 show received at least 1,000 complaints with one viewer stating their “eyes [were] molested.”
Most notably, Janet Jackson’s 2004 wardrobe malfunction drew an estimated 500,000 complaints, plus the FCC fined her $550,000.
Still, K.Dot’s performance drew positive critiques elsewhere. Phish frontman Trey Anastasio sung Lamar’s praises to GQ, calling the show “the deepest thing [he’d] ever seen at a Super Bowl.”
In other news, Lamar is set to begin his Grand National Tour with co-headliner and Top Dawg collaborator, SZA, next month. The duo will hit stadiums nationwide, including stops in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Toronto, and tickets are on sale now. At this year’s Grammy Awards, Lamar scored big, winning five Gramophones, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for “Not Like Us.”
Revisit Consequence’s review of Lamar’s surprise 2024 album, GNX.