Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX halftime performance drew 125 FCC complaints, according to several FOIAs filed following the event, including one by The Hill.
Some of the FCC complaints expressed moralistic sentiments typically associated with critiques of rap. “The halftime show was terrible with the language and gestures. My younger kids did not need to see and hear this!” noted one viewer from Lenox, IL. Another viewer said Serena Williams’ appearance — which included her Crip walking — amounted to her touting “gang affiliation.”
Additionally, one observer pleaded, “For the next Super Bowl, please consider hiring musical entertainment that is family friendly and not socially or politically centered. It would be a nice change to have entertainment that truly shows what America should be; family, country, decency and respect. It is tiresome to have to send children out of the room during what should be a family event due to possible vulgarity and inappropriate language/gestures.”
While most of the complaints centered on Lamar’s catalog not being kid-friendly, one apparent Drake supporter concluded, “Kendrick Lamar made fake false and scandalous claims that are unfounded. He [said] Drake was a pedophile on TV in front of [a] million … [people], do better, this is a sad day.”
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Well before the officially-filed FCC complaints made the news, some were already complaining online and elsewhere, particularly from the right wing. In the days following the performance where Lamar “triumphed,” scoring a hip-hop touchdown per Rolling Stone‘s review, conservative commentators were upset and vocal about a Black performer taking the stage at the big game.
A halftime performance drawing many FCC complaints is not a new phenomenon: Rihanna’s Super Bowl halftime set garnered 100 pages of complaints; and back in 2019, Adam Levine’s nipples sparked more than 50 complaints. Plus, this year’s complaints pale in comparison to how many viewers Lamar drew: the performance received 128 million worldwide television viewers and 3.65 billion views, including 1.7 billion from user-generated content.
Meanwhile, Kendrick Lamar is set to perform in front of more adoring fans, when he and SZA embark on their Grand National Tour, hitting stadiums nationwide next month.
