Kendrick Lamar skips over ‘pedophile’ lyric in Super Bowl 2025 halftime show — but still manages to savagely diss Drake

Kendrick Lamar continued to parade his feud with Drake during his 2025 Super Bowl halftime show at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday.

However, the rapper kept his performance PG for the family-friendly crowd in the Big Easy.

Samuel L. Jackson first appeared on the field to introduce the set dressed as Uncle Sam and then Lamar, 37, took the stage to perform hits like “Squabble Up,” “Humble,” “DNA” and “Euphoria.”

Kendrick Lamar had all eyes on him during the Super Bowl 2025 halftime show. Getty Images

Samuel L. Jackson introduced the performance dressed as the Uncle Sam. Fox Sports

Leading up to the big day, fans questioned whether Lamar, seen here on top of a black vehicle, would perform “Not Like Us” during his halftime set. Getty Images

He stood on top of a black vehicle and was joined by a group of dancers dressed in either all red, all blue or a white T-shirt and jeans, respectively, to create the appearance of the American flag.

About10 minutes into his 13-minute set, Lamar was joined on stage by his longtime friend and collaborator SZA. The two reunited to perform “Luther” and “All the Stars.”

Lamar then performed his Grammy-winning diss track, “Not Like Us,” which took aim at Drake.

Notably, he skipped over the word “pedophile” while rapping the lyric, “Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophile” after Drake sued their shared record label last month over the “false and malicious” line.

SZA also hit the stage for Lamar’s halftime show. Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The R&B songstress wore all red to sing “Luther” and “All the Stars.” Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Lamar did, however, perform other lyrics that heavily implied the Canadian artist likes underage girls, including, “Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A minor,” which the crowd savagely shouted.

That part of the performance ended with one final dig at Drake, 38, as the California-born rapper invited out the “One Dance” singer’s ex Serena Williams, who made a surprise cameo to dance the Crip walk during the blistering song.

Lamar concluded his set by bringing out DJ Mustard for “TV Off.”

Swifties were likely disappointed, though, as he did not include his and Taylor Swift’s 2014 collaboration, “Bad Blood,” in the halftime show.

Lamar also performed “Not Like Us,” which marked him as the winner in his feud with Drake. WireImage

Drake’s ex Serena Williams made a cameo during the song to do the crip walk. Fox

Lamar did not shout-out his collaboration with Taylor Swift, “Bad Blood.” WireImage

Earlier this week, the “Humble” rapper teased what he had in store for his Super Bowl LIX performance during the Apple Music Super Bowl halftime show press conference in New Orleans.

“I’ve always been very open about storytelling through all my catalog and my history of music. I’ve always had a passion about bringing that on whatever stage I’m on,” he said. “So I like to always carry on that sense of, you know, make people listen, but also see and think a little.”

Although Lamar did not directly confirm whether he would be performing “Not Like Us” at halftime, the song blasted in the media conference room as moderators Ebro Darden and Nadeska Alexis introduced him to the stage.

Lamar teased his performance during the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show press conference in NOLA Thursday. Robert Hanashiro / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“I’ve always been very open about storytelling through all my catalog and my history of music. I’ve always had a passion about bringing that on whatever stage I’m on,” he said at the time. Getty Images for pgLang, Amazon Music, & Free Lunch

Apple Music and the NFL announced the “Pray for Me” rapper as the halftime headliner in September of last year.

Lamar’s performance comes a year after he and Drake began exchanging shots at each other through vicious diss tracks, including “Family Matters” and “Euphoria.”

The West Coast native was widely declared the winner of the feud when he dropped the catchy song “Not Like Us” last May.

Lamar recently won five Grammys for his Drake diss song “Not Like Us.” Getty Images

Drake and Lamar have been feuding since 2024. Instagram / @champagnepapi

On the track, Lamar made wild accusations against Drake (real name Aubrey Graham) — all of which the “God’s Plan” rapper has denied.

“Not Like Us” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and earned Lamar five awards at the 2025 Grammys earlier this month.

He took home the statuettes for song of the year, record of the year, best rap song, best music video and best rap performance.

Related Posts


This will close in 0 seconds