Celebrities React To Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Performance: Kevin Durant, Ye, Spike Lee, And More
Kendrick Lamar‘s memorable Super Bowl LIX halftime performance has dominated headlines all week since its execution on Sunday (Feb. 9). The show drew a myriad of live reactions, but the reviews have continued to roll in after fans, peers, and other creatives have had a chance to process the 13-minute medley.
Overall, the show honored his most recent album, GNX, as the setlist included “wacced out murals,” “squabble up,” “man at the garden,” and “tv off.” Midway through, he delivered more widely known mainstream records like “DNA” and “Humble,” and shocked many viewers by doing his scathing diss record toward Drake, “Not Like Us.”
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Guests who hit the stage with the Compton rapper included SZA, Samuel L. Jackson, and DJ Mustard.
As expected, the overall reception could not be summarized within a few words, as many people praised the choices that were made while others heavily criticized them. From athletes and filmmakers to fellow artists, check out a growing list of celebrity reactions to Kendrick’s Super Bowl performance below.
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Kevin Durant
Image Credit: Soobum Im/Getty Images During a recent interview with reporter Dana Scott, Kevin Durant revealed he wasn’t too amused by Kendrick’s highly anticipated performance.
“It meant nothing to me,” the NBA star said nonchalantly when asked about the halftime show. “No thoughts — I didn’t really pay attention to it, to be honest. It was a little boring day for a Super Bowl. The game got out of hand. The Super Bowl Halftime Show was just… I didn’t pay attention to it. I kinda skimmed through the whole thing, to be honest.”
His stance could be based on two things: his well-known friendship with Drake or the fact that the Eagles were the team that knocked out his hometown squad, the Washington Commanders. Either way, the performance didn’t leave a lasting impression on the 15x All-Star.
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Magic Johnson
Image Credit: Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images Per Sports Business Journal, NBA legend Magic Johnson shared on social media: “Kendrick Lamar brought the house down tonight in his half time performance! I loved his song selection and the production was amazing! Sza sounded great and I loved seeing my friend Serena Williams and my good friend Samuel L. Jackson as Uncle Sam!”
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Angel Reese
Image Credit: Kaitlyn Morris/WireImage Angel Reese was down in NOLA for the action-packed weekend, as she attended the Fanatics Super Bowl party and participated in the NFL’s celebrity flag football game. To top it off, she gave the “Poetic Justice” rapper’s set a flawless rating, sharing on X: “10/10. plus serena. chefs kiss.”
Also, it’s safe to say she was rooting for the winning team, as she also tweeted during the game: “the eagles are ONNAT. i love it.”
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Dave Free
Image Credit: Jon Kopaloff/WireImage Dave Free had a heavy hand in crafting the 13-minute performance and he shared what his team’s intentions were. “We wanted this performance to have a cinematic and theatrical element to it,” the renowned filmaker and director told Wall Street Journal. “We can confidently say that there’s no Super Bowl performance that’s quite like this one.”
“The feel of it is Black America,” the 38-year-old explained. “What does Black America look like, and how to control that narrative of what it means to be Black in America versus what the world’s perspective of that is.” He reiterated that the mission “wasn’t about playing the hits,” but rather painting a broader story.
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T-Pain
Image Credit: Derek White/Getty Images for iHeartRadio T-Pain took it up a notch and didn’t resort to just live-tweeting his thoughts, but instead, he livestreamed his reaction. The “Buy U A Drank” singer switched between bopping along to the beat and watching some parts in disbelief. Some of his commentary includes “That f**king stadium is so loud!” during the infamous “A minor” line, “What the f**k?,” and various “Oh no’s.”
After the show concluded, he gathered his thoughts and provided a more in-depth review. “That was incredible. That may have been the most simple halftime show I’ve ever seen,” he said to the camera. “It was great. It was good. But for some reason, that was impactful as sh*t, but he didn’t really do sh*t! And he f**kin’ didn’t need to is the crazy when you got smashes.”
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Jermaine Dupri
Image Credit: Prince Williams/WireImage Jermaine Dupri caught wind of the naysayers and wasn’t phased by the people who didn’t appreciate Kendrick’s art. “I’m happy it’s people saying they didn’t like the Halftime performance,” he said.
The industry vet explained how he is in favor of gatekeeping the beloved genre of Hip-Hop from people who don’t understand. “Maybe we can get back to the separation of music and stop letting the internet gumbo everything. Real Rap Shit ain’t never been for all y’all,” he typed on X.
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Maiya The Don
Image Credit: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images Maiya The Don was enamored by K. Dot’s entire execution. She took to X to share her gut reaction, writing, “No i’m not over it like this was incredible. the intention, the execution, everything. Kendrick has never been one to choose anything over his integrity as a rapper and as a man. To see it so blatant and unwavering is just a candle on the cake.”
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Spike Lee
Image Credit: Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for The Red Sea International Film Festival Kendrick’s performance may have “went over people’s heads” at first because of its several layers and plethora of references. Spike Lee chimed in to provide context to certain decisions that were made for the show and the intentions behind them.
The iconic filmmaker began by shouting out Kendrick and Samuel L. Jackson, writing on Instagram, “I Want To Thank My Brother Kendrick For The 40 Acres And A Mule Shoutout Which Has Been The Name Of My Production Company Since NYU Grad Film School. And I Want To Send A Special Shoutout To My Morehouse Brother Samuel Jackson Who Started This Super Bowl Halftime Extravaganza As Uncle Sam.
As he continued, he connected the dots between Jackson and his 2015 film Chi-Raq. “You Might’ve Seen Him As Dolmedes In CHI-RAQ. The Term 40 Acres And A Mule Was A Proposal For Reparations To Former Enslaved African-Americans In The Aftermath Of The Civil War. The Proposal Was Intended To Provide Land And Resources To Provide Land And Resources To Help Free People Achieve Economic Independence. This Promise Was Ultimately Broken. HAPPY BLACK HIS-HERSTORY,” he typed.
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Ye
Image Credit: Pierre Suu/GC Images Although Ye was accused of being envious of Lamar’s shine, the Chicago artist shared he was highly impressed with the event. He even declared it was his favorite halftime performance “since the Michael Jackson era.”
“I really loved the show. It was my favorite Halftime Show since the Michael Jackson era, which I kind of just barely remember, I just be seeing clips of it,” Ye explained. He described K. Dot’s show as “super simple,” adding, “the flag was fresh. When they did [‘HUMBLE.’], the way people’s heads were moving. I was like, shook. This is like, super fresh. The man’s voice control and all that.”
