Lil Wayne hurt by Super Bowl snub

LOS ANGELES (AP):

Lil Wayne opened up for the first time about his devastation after not being selected as the 2025 Super Bowl half-time show headline performer in his hometown of New Orleans.

The rap megastar publicly expressed his hurt feelings in an Instagram video post on Friday, nearly a week after Los Angeles-based rapper Kendrick Lamar was announced as the headliner. He said being overlooked "broke" him, adding that "I'm just trying to put myself back together".

Over the years, Wayne has been vocal about his desire to perform during half-time of the NFL's championship game, which will be held at the Caesars Superdome on February 9. It will be the second time Lamar will perform during the half-time show, after he made a guest appearance with Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent and Eminem in 2022.

Wayne appeared sombre in the video, saying he had to muster up enough strength to express his thoughts "without breaking".

"That hurt a whole lot," said Wayne, a five-time Grammy winner, who has a variety of hits, including Lollipop, featuring Static Major, Mr Carter with Jay-Z, Go DJ and A Milli. He also helped ignite the careers of Drake, Nicki Minaj and Tyga.

"I blame myself for not being mentally prepared for a letdown, for automatically mentally putting myself in that position," he said. "I thought there was nothing better than that spot, on that stage, on that platform in my city."

Wayne thanked his supporters - including Minaj and Birdman - who have spoken up on his behalf.

"I feel like I let all of y'all down for not getting that opportunity," Wayne said.

However, Wayne also noted that "your words turned into arms and held me up when I tried to fall back".