In a country as deeply divided as the United States currently is, it should come as no surprise that reaction to Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance at this year’s Super Bowl would be so even split between those who called it a brilliant commentary on the state of modern America and those who claimed it was unwatchable or impossible to understand.
The American commentary crowd had plenty of proof to back up their claims that Lamar was letting us all know that we can either move closer to each other or continue to deny the division that separates us and threatens to plunge the country into a second civil war.
“Lamar’s dancers hit the field in monochromatic red, white, and blue outfits. While some saw gang symbolism, others clocked the deeper meaning during ‘HUMBLE.’—when an all-Black group of male dancers formed the American flag with their bodies,” The Grio’s Haniyah Phiolgene notes. “Lamar stood at the center, visibly dividing them, fueling speculation that he was making a statement on the country’s current divisions. Before the moment played out, he told the audience, ‘The revolution is about to be televised. You picked the right time but the wrong guy.'”
Others thought there were jabs at Pervert-in-Chief Donald Trump, who was in attendance but reportedly left before seeing all of the halftime show.
“Donald Trump is forced to watch Samuel L Jackson, dressed as Uncle Sam, introduce Kendrick Lamar at the super bowl half time show after asking the NFL to not show the ‘End Racism’ In the End Zones is the Headline,” a Twitter user wrote.
Another wrote, “Samuel l jackson as uncle sam, the personification of america, telling kendrick his performance is ‘too ghetto’ and then it cutting to kendrick’s all-black backup dancers arranged as the american flag all while That Man [Trump] is in attendance? kendrick i was not familiar with your game.”
And then there was a truly moronic reaction from disgraced former Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, who seemed to think Lamar’s performance was a direct reaction to Trump’s win in the 2024 presidential election.
“The halftime show you just watched is clearly the regime’s response to Trump’s historic gains with black men,” Gaetz tweeted.
No, Matt. It wasn’t. The show was planned months before the election.
But perhaps the best thing that came out of Gaetz’s comment is that he was instantly reminded that he’d been suspected of paying underage girls to have sex with him, which ironically mirrors criticism rap star Drake has received, which made it’s way into Lamar’s song “Not Like Us.”
In the song, Lamar says, “Say, Drake, I hear you like ’em young” and “tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A minor.”
That was all it took to send social media into spasms of delight as they hit back at Gaetz.