Kendrick Lamar slammed for 'worst halftime show ever' during Super Bowl 2025 performance before swipe at rival Drake

Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl halftime performance in New Orleans on Sunday drew criticism from some fans, who labeled it the 'worst halftime show ever.' 

Fresh of his Grammy wins, the rapper, 37, didn't seem to carry that momentum into his performance at the Caesars Superdome during the showdown between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Pulitzer Prize winner showcased his lyrical prowess as he started out the performance on top of a car before taking a swipe at his hip hop rival Drake, 38.

Despite Drake recently suing his and Lamar's record label, Universal Music Group, over the controversial diss song, Not Like Us, which calls Drake a 'certified pedophile', Kendrick still performed the song, however he omitted the word.

He did, however, deliver two other controversial lines, including 'Say Drake, I hear you like them young' and 'trying to strike a chord and it's probably a minor,' as the crowd sang along. 

The rapper had a surprise introduction from actor Samuel L. Jackson, 76, who was dressed up as 'Uncle Sam', and performed a medley of his hits, before he was joined by R&B singer SZA, 35.

Kendrick also wore a big silver chain pendant with a small letter 'a', in another reference to 'A minor' in the lyrics. 

The scathing diss track about Drake won Lamar a Grammy for Record of the Year and Song of the Year last weekend. 

Tennis champion Serena Williams, who was once linked to Drake, was pictured dancing during Kendrick's performance of Not Like Us. 

At one point a man with a Palestine flag tried to storm the halftime show but was intercepted by security. Fans inside the stadium saw the drama unfold but TV cameras didn't show it to viewers. 

Kendrick rocked a blue and white jacket, a black shirt, blue jeans and a backwards hat.

He was joined by a crew of backup dancers who formed an American flag while dressed in red, white and blue.

At one point during the performance Jackson returned, and told the crowd: 'Too loud, too reckless, too ghetto. Mr. Lamar, do you really know how to play the game?' 

Lamar perfumed wacced out murals, Bodies, Squabble, Euphoria, Humble, DNA, man at the garden, and Peekaboo by himself, before he was joined by SZA. 

The duo performed their collabs Luther and All the Stars. SZA wowed in an all-red look. 

He finished off his performance with the song Tv Off. 

Lamar's song Not Like Us became a viral sensation over the summer as the two artists sparred.

The hit diss song has been the subject of litigation from the Canadian rapper, who recently filed a defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group.

In the track, Drake is referred to as a 'certified pedophile.'

In the federal defamation lawsuit filed earlier this month, the Canadian rapper sued Universal Music Group for spreading the 'false and malicious narrative' that he is a pedophile.

Drake says in court documents that UMG knew Lamar's diss track would include lyrics and images in a music video that referred to him as a pedophile.

He also accused UMG of allowing the 'inflammatory and shocking allegations' because the song was a 'gold mine' for the company.

It comes after Lamar said he was aiming to infuse his Los Angeles hip-hop flavor into New Orleans while staying true to his storytelling roots during his halftime performance.

'Being in the now and being just locked-in to how I feel and the energy I have now, that's the L.A. energy for me,' he said Thursday at a press conference hosted by Apple Music.

'That's something I wanted to carry over to New Orleans and for the world to see. This is me. This is Kendrick Lamar, 37 years old, and I still feel like I'm elevating, I'm still on a journey.'

When asked what viewers can expect, Lamar answered: 'Storytelling. I think I´ve always been very open about storytelling through all my catalog and my history of music. And I´ve always had a passion about bringing that on whatever stage I´m on.'

Lamar will be bringing hip-hop back to the NFL´s championship game, where he performed as a guest artist with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent and Eminem in 2022. 

On Sunday, he becomes the first solo hip-hop artist to headline the halftime show.

'It reminds me of the essence and the core response of rap and hip-hop and how far it can go,' he said. 

'It puts the culture at the forefront, where it needs to be and not minimized to just a catchy song or verse. This is a true art form, so to represent it on this type of stage is like everything that I´ve worked for and everything that I believe in as far as the culture.'

The rap megastar took the stage fresh off a Grammy triumph, where he claimed two of the night's biggest awards - song and record of the year - for his diss track Not Like Us.

The Super Bowl pregame had some Louisiana flavor: Jon Batiste hit the stage to sing the national anthem, while Trombone Shorty and Lauren Daigle performed America the Beautiful. 

It was previously reported that the nature of Lamar's halftime show 'hangs in the balance' amid legal meetings. 

Fresh off releasing his highly-acclaimed album GNX, Lamar is also gearing up for a major tour alongside SZA, his former Top Dawg Entertainment labelmate. The Grand National Tour kicks off April 19 in Minneapolis and concludes June 18 in Washington, D.C. 

'I'm honored to be next to her talent,' Lamar said of SZA.