Kendrick Lamar Eviscerates Drake at Super Bowl, as MAGA Seethes

Whatever happened between the two teams playing the Super Bowl, it’s safe to say that the biggest loser of Sunday night was Drake.

The rapper just suffered one of the most brutal roastings in TV history when Kendrick Lamar performed his Grammy-winning diss track, in which he calls Drake a “certified pedophile,” during the most watched entertainment event of the year, in front of an audience that sang along to the most eviscerating lines in the track, while Drake’s ex-girlfriend Serena Williams danced along and the president of the United States, Donald Trump, watched.

Lamar is the first solo rapper to headline the Super Bowl Halftime Show in history, and much of the lead-up to his set—and some cheeky hyping in the performance itself—hinged on whether he’d include “Not Like Us,” that massive hit that emerged from Lamar’s rap-battle beef with Drake.

That Lamar actually did put Drake on blast with such glee during the show is certainly the biggest talking point of the event. But it’s his pointed, provocative, and, often, playful acknowledgement that his very presence at the game represented a certain culture clash that seems to be catching fire with a certain population of viewers.

“Kendrick is doing so good that Trump is about to tweet in support of Drake,” writer and podcaster Hunter Harris posted on X during the performance. “Looked right in the camera, said that man’s name, and then the whole stadium sang ‘a minooooooor.’ Christ,” posted actor and comedian Krissy Chula.

Insult to injury, at least in many Lamar fans’ eyes, was Williams featuring in the “Not Like Us” segment of the performance, crip walking while Lamar rapped his Drake disses.

“Serena dated Drake now she’s crip walking on his corpse,” one user posted. “Losing a rap battle so hard that your ex-girlfriend you followed around like a puppy comes out to dance on your grave while an entire superbowl crowd calls you a pedophile. Tough, man!” posted another.

Lamar was announced by actor Samuel L. Jackson, who introduced himself, “It’s your uncle, Sam.” Dressed in star-spangled garb and a top hat as this version of Uncle Sam, Jackson emceed the entire performance, interrupting the set to warn Lamar to stick to the kind of performance that the mainstream NFL audience would tolerate.

“No, no, no, no. Too loud. Too reckless. Too ghetto. Mr. Lamar, do you really know how to play the game? Then tighten up,” Jackson’s Uncle Sam said at one point, as Lamar’s set defiantly soldiered on.

Lamar performed a medley of hits like “Squabble Up,” “Humble,” and “DNA,” “TV Off,” and “Peekaboo.” Chart-topping R&B star SZA joined him for a sultry mid-section, performing their collaborations “Luther” and “All the Stars.” Uncle Sam Jackson approved of this segment: “That’s what I’m talking about. That’s what America wants. Nice and calm. You’re almost there. Don’t mess this up.”

Lamar, however, had other plans. “Forty acres and a mule,” he said. “This is bigger than the music.”

Suffice it to say, the rapper’s halftime show was designed to make a statement. “Kendrick Lamar saying 40 acres & a mule—at the Super Bowl—with Trump in attendance…..” one X user posted, flabbergasted.

It’s unclear whether Lamar’s set and creative direction changed once Trump announced he would be in attendance—the musician had been booked as the Halftime Show headliner months ago; Trump made his plans to show up just last week. Still, it’s hard not to read into some pointed political statements from the performance—which viewers are certainly doing.

After all, it’s a performance that kicked off with Lamar saying into the camera, “The revolution’s about to be televised. You picked the right time, but the wrong guy.” It’s a line that got a similar shocked reaction to the 40 acres lyric: “‘the revolution boutta be televised you picked the right time but the wrong guy’ IN FRONT OF DONALD TRUMP IS CRAZY KENDRICK,” an X user posted.

At one point, dancers dressed in red, white, and blue assembled in an American flag formation. Much of the choreography—perhaps, even, the entire vision of the performance—wrestled with a tension between the performers’ impulse to wild out and the need, or at least expectation, to rigidly and obediently fall in line.

It’s an inherent message that earned Lamar a lot of praise. “Count on Kendrick to deliver an entertaining Super Bowl halftime show that doubled as a complete, coherent and compelling artistic / political statement. That KILLED,” one user posted. But it also proved, expectedly divisive.

Political journalist Sam Stein rounded up the immediate conservative reaction:

While others braced for more outrage to come. “If the halftime show doesn’t anger Megyn Kelly, we’ve failed as a country,” writer Megan Johnson posted. “Trump in that suite right now booking Carrie Underwood for next year,” comedian Roy Wood Jr. predicted.

Perhaps anticipating backlash from conservative NFL fans, The Daily Mail ran an article immediately after the performance headlined “Kendrick Lamar slammed for ‘worst halftime show ever’ during Super Bowl 2025 performance” that appeared to be a pre-write. When it first went online, the piece didn’t include any evidence—tweets or reactions—from any actual fans that said that.

It has since been updated, with a sampling of reaction from viewers who, again, as one would expect from a halftime show involving a rapper making political statements, did not care for it.

I’ve been covering various Super Bowl Halftime Shows for [redacted] years, and have seen them catch backlash for everything from Beyoncé being too feminist, Lady Gaga promoting a LGBT+ acceptance, Jennifer Lopez wearing a skimpy costume, Adam Levine being shirtless, Prince staging a phallic shadow with his guitar, and Justin Timberlake being, generally, the worst.

That Kendrick Lamar is getting people riled up? I can’t say that I’m shocked. He probably knew it would happen, too. Which makes it all the more amusing that he leaned into the controversy and said, “You know what? I’m going to bring Drake into this.” On that, at least, he scored a touchdown.