New Orleans Native Lil Wayne Reflects on NOLA Super Bowl Halftime Snub: ‘It Hurt a Lot’

Lil Wayne admitted he wasn’t “mentally prepared” for the letdown of not being selected to headline the halftime show of Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans in 2025.

The rapper, 41, and NOLA native took to Instagram on Friday, September 13, to share his feelings about missing the opportunity to represent his city in what is routinely the most-watched television event of the year.

“First of all, I want to say forgive me for the delay,” he began. “I had to get strength enough to do this without breaking. I’mma say thank you to every voice, every opinion, all the care, all love and support out there. Your words turned into arms and held me up when I tried to fall back.”

Lil Wayne has been campaigning for the slot since at least February when he appeared on YG ’s “4Hunnid” podcast to say the NFL had not contacted him about the opportunity but he was keeping his “fingers crossed.”

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The NFL ultimately chose Kendrick Lamar , who also performed alongside Dr. Dre , Snoop Dogg , Eminem and Mary J. Blige at the Super Bowl LVI halftime show in southern California in 2022.

“That hurt. It hurt a lot. You know what I’m talking about. It hurt a whole lot,” Lil Wayne continued. “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 has long held New Orleans close to his heart. His 2006 mixtape Dedication 2 included a track titled “Georgia Bush” in which he criticized then-President George W. Bush for his response to Hurricane Katrina, which ravaged the New Orleans area the year before.

In 2014, he appeared as a guest of Drake at NBA All-Star Weekend in New Orleans, where he announced his upcoming album Tha Carter V .

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“So, like I said, it broke me and I’m just trying to put me back together,” he concluded. “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 all of y’all down by not getting that opportunity, but I’m working on me and I’m working. So thank you.”

As of Friday, neither Lamar nor the NFL have announced additional guests for his 2025 performance, leaving the door open that Lil Wayne could still make an appearance.

Other rappers have come out in support of Wayne as well, with Nicki Minaj and Drake sharing messages of support for him after the news that Lamar would be headlining instead. Drake, 37, notably shared several images of Wayne via his Instagram Story earlier this week after months of back-and-forth with Lamar.