Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime performance received over 100 complaints
Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime performance was the talk of the town back in February, and many wondered if he would perform the iconic diss track ‘Not Like Us’. However, not many in hip-hop expected that viewers would complain about it.
The show featured cameos from the likes of SZA, Serena Williams, and Samuel L Jackson, and most were happy with it. Kanye West even called it the “best since Michael Jackson’s.” As such, there was an expectation that everyone was happy with it at home, too.
Still, The Hill recently reported that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) received 125 complaints about the show, mainly regarding its political nature and focus on black America. Furthermore, probably to Drake’s delight, some complained about the rapper’s lyrics and even about the choreography.
According to those who did contact the FCC, it included “vulgarity” and wasn’t appropriate for primetime television. One viewer from Lenox, Illinois, asserted, “My younger kids did not need to see and hear this!” The same viewer also complained about “the language and gestures.”
The gestures made during the performance annoyed and upset many viewers, apparently. Another complainant angrily declared, “For the next Super Bowl, please consider hiring musical entertainment that is family-friendly and not socially or politically centred… It would be a nice change to have entertainment that truly shows what America should be; family, country, decency and respect.”
Some people who contacted the FCC allegedly suggested that the show was “racist” and excluded white people too much, with an excessive focus on black people and unrelatable black culture. One viewer from Maryland’s Ocean City told the commission, “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.”
However, one Florida man attacked Samuel L Jackson’s role, stating, “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.”
Although it seems like Lamar’s performance was hated by many, the 125 FCC complaints are dwarfed by the estimated 500,000 complaints Janet Jackson’s performance received after her infamous wardrobe malfunction. Overall, Lamar’s show was praised by many, with one journalist even labelling it “the deepest thing [he’d] ever seen at a Super Bowl.”