Lil Wayne says not being chosen for Super Bowl LIX halftime show 'broke me'

Lil Wayne said that not being chosen to headline the Super Bowl LIX halftime show "hurt a lot."

Days after it was announced that Kendrick Lamar will be performing at Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9, 2025 in New Orleans, Lil Wayne took to Instagram on Friday morning and opened up about how the snub has affected him.

"I had to get strength enough to do this without breaking," the "Can't Hold Me Down" rapper began.

"That hurt. Hurt a lot," he continued. "It hurt a whole lot. I blame myself for not being mentally prepared for a let down. And just automatically mentally putting myself in that position."

Weezy, who is from New Orleans where Super Bowl LIX will be held, had previously talked about his desire to perform at the Super Bowl in February on YG's "4HUNNID" podcast.

"I will not lie to you, I have not got a call," he said on the podcast. "But we all praying, we keeping our fingers crossed. I'm working hard. I'm going to make sure this next album and everything I do is killer, so I'm going make it very hard for them to … I want to just make it hard for them not to highlight the boy."

In his Instagram video, Lil Wayne expressed what performing at the Super Bowl would have meant to him.

"I thought there was nothing – I thought there was nothing better than that spot, than that stage and that platform in my city," he said. "So that hurt. It hurt a whole lot."

The news Lamar performing at the Super Bowl was met with disappointment from many fans and fellow artists. Some took to social media to share how it should have been Lil Wayne, including Nicki Minaj, who was discovered by Lil Wayne.

Despite his disappointment, Lil Wayne said that his fans, friends and family have helped him through this challenging time.

"Y'all are f---ing amazing," he said. "It made me feel like s--- not getting this opportunity and when I felt like s---, you guys reminded me that I ain't s--- without y'all. And that's an amazing reality."

"So like I said, it broke me and I'm just trying to put me back together, but my god have you all helped me," he continued. "I really appreciate that. I really do. I feel like I let all of y'all down by not getting that opportunity. But I'm working on me and I'm working. So thank you."