Lil Wayne is finally addressing the backlash following the announcement that Kendrick Lamar will headline the Super Bowl Halftime Show in New Orleans.
In a candid video posted late Thursday night (September 12), an emotional Lil Wayne expressed deep disappointment and pain over missing out on the coveted slot.
“First of all I wanna say forgive me for the delay,” he began. “I had to get strength enough to do this without breaking.” He then thanked everybody who spoke up for him and reached out to him, adding, “Your words turn into arms that held me up when I tried to fall back.”
He continued, accepting responsibility for not preparing himself for the announcement. “I blame myself for not being mentally prepared for a letdown and for just automatically mentally putting myself in that position; like somebody told me that was my position,” Wayne said. “But I thought there was nothing better than that. That stage and that platform in my city. So that hurt. It hurt a whole lot.”
Lil Wayne Believes He Let Down Fans By Not Getting The Super Bowl Opportunity
Nonetheless, Lil Wayne revealed the support he received has been the silver lining that kept him going.
“But y’all. Y’all are f###### amazing,” he added, “It made me feel like s### not getting this opportunity. But when I felt like s###, you guys reminded me that I ain’t s### without y’all. And that’s an amazing reality.”
Lil Wayne admitted, “It broke me,” adding, “I’m just tryna put me back together.”
He concluded, “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.”
The announcement earlier this week sparked outraged reactions from Lil Wayne supporters, claiming the hometown hero deserved to headline the Super Bowl.
Lil Wayne previously expressed his desire to perform at the event, revealing he was “praying” to get the call in one interview and said, “This is my moment” in another.