Make sure to tune your tiny violins, because MAGA Republicans are being hysterical about Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX halftime performance — to absolutely no one’s surprise.
The Philadelphia Eagles snagged an incredible win over the Kansas City Chiefs during Sunday’s Super Bowl, making them two-time NFL champions. But whether you were cheering on the Birds or the Chiefs, Grammy-winning artist Kendrick Lamar certainly stole the show with a halftime concert that, predictably enough, sent conservative Republicans and Donald Trump loyalists into fits of rage over its political overtones. As if hip-hop…isn’t political?
Even prior to Lamar’s show, Super Bowl LIX had its fair share of controversies, from Travis Kelce’s remarks about how it was an “honor” to play in front of the president to Taylor Swift being booed by attendees, for some reason (Misogyny. Misogyny is the reason). But nothing ruffled MAGA feathers nearly as much as the halftime show, in which Lamar performed a number of his best hits alongside guest stars like SZA and Serena Williams — the final nail in the coffin in Lamar’s ongoing blitz against Drake (spoiler alert: he won).
MAGA Republicans are so upset with Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl performance that they’re blaming the devil
There’s a lot to unpack when examining Lamar’s Super Bowl performance, but in short, it was jam-packed with political messaging — “The revolution is about to be televised; You picked the right time but the wrong guy” bit wasn’t exactly subtle. Samuel L. Jackson’s Uncle Sam character served as the de facto narrator of this story, with his “Great American Game” speech being less about football and more about how harshly Black Americans are criticized in our society. He also alluded to the turbulent state of the nation (“it’s a cultural divide”) and mentioned reparations (“40 acres and mule”), which were promised to Black Americans post-Civil War but never given.
All this to say that conservatives were pretty much bound to miss the point of Lamar’s show from the get-go, making it unsurprising that right-wing politicians like former congressman George Santos went straight to X (Twitter) to call the show “absolute TRASH,” making it out to be an attack on Trump and “American values” instead of a — very justified — commentary on how the U.S., especially those in power, marginalize women and people of color for the sake of maintaining the status quo.
Other MAGA backers also bandwagoned on the Kendrick Lamar hate train, including media commentator/podcast host Benny Johnson, who called the, ahem, Pulitzer Prize-winning musician “talentless” before accusing him of worshipping Satan.
MAGA sure seems irritated by Lamar’s use of free speech, right? Either way, I struggle to see how Trump’s win = left-leaning artists being banned from the NFL, and the hypocrisy here really exposes the blatant racism that’s surrounded the hip-hop sphere since day one. Lamar’s performance isn’t some kind of liberal slam-dunk or D.E.I. initiative — it’s art. And complaining about how much you do or don’t understand his rapping is probably more problematic than you realize it is (looking at you, Lauren Boebert).
Let’s be perfectly clear: these are not real critiques of Lamar’s halftime show. Conservatives are simply upset that it’s not one of “their guys” on stage controlling the narrative — a.k.a. pretty much just Village People and Carrie Underwood, at this point. In any case, this counter-culture shift is delicious.
Published: Feb 10, 2025 09:51 pm