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Kendrick Lamar‘s Drake diss track at his Super Bowl Halftime show earned the wrath of over a hundred viewers who have since filed complaints to the Federal Communications Commission, FCC. The rapper broke viewing records with his 13-minute performance at the Super Bowl LIX, held at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on February 9. An average of 133.5 million people tuned in to watch the performance worldwide, outpacing the game itself, which averaged 127.7 million viewers.
The 37-year-old’s performance of his Drake diss track, Not Like Us has since become a hot topic in the tabloids, not just for being the most-watched halftime show in Super Bowl history, but also the legal implications of his allegations against Drake in the track, which is the subject of an ongoing lawsuit.
Kendrick Lamar Received 125 FCC Complaints From Super Bowl Halftime Show
Records obtained by TMZ confirm that Drake wasn’t the only one pissed off by Lamar’s Super Bolwl Halftime show. According to the news outlet, 125 viewers lodged complaints with the FCC, citing inappropriate lyrics, raunchy dance moves, anti-American themes, his use of only black-performers on his show, and even the lines dissing fellow rapper, Drake. The complainants condemned the Euphoria singer for misusing the Super Bowl platform to score points in his personal beef with Drake.
About ten of the complaints lodged to the FCC specifically took offence with Kendrick Lamar’s decision to go after Drake with his diss track during the halftime performance, hence focusing on “personal vendetta,” one claimed. Another complainant accused Lamar of making “false and scandalous claims that are unfounded,” including his labeling Drake a pedophile on TV, before millions of people. The FCC complaints also cited the split American flag raised at some point during the halftime show. The majority of these displeased viewers deemed Lamar’s performance a far cry from a family-friendly experience.
Fans Bite Back At Critics of Lamar’s Halftime Performance
While these 125 FCC complaints may seem insignificant in the face of 127.7 million viewers who watched the Super Bowl last month, Kendrick Lamar’s fans weren’t having it. Turning to Reddit, enraged fans fired back at the complainants, whom they tagged “Drake fans,” with trolling remarks. One wrote,
“I’d imagine a good number of them are Drake fans.”
A second wrote,
“125/125 million Super Bowl watchers is literally 1 in a million.”
Another Redditor fired,
“Weird. He took out all the cursing and the N-word. Not like there’s anything ACTUALLY against FCC guidelines in that set that I know of. Some weird people out there.”
Some users implied the 125 complaints were simply Drake calling anonymously 125 times. Kendrick Lamar’s fans also made a mockery of the claims from some of the FCC complainants that they “felt discriminated against,” owing to the lack of inclusion of White folks in the rapper’s Super Bowl Halftime show. One fan went on to urge the Meet the Grahams hitmaker to make a special diss track responding to each of the 125 complaints. Another Reddit user dismissed the complaints about Lamar’s lack of inclusion, saying,
“I’m a cis het white male and I thought it was one of the best shows I’ve seen. F*ck those little baby ass b**ches who complained!”
Another jabbed,
“That’s it?!!! I expected way more from the poor little offended folk that don’t know how to turn a dial if you don’t like it.”
Circling away from the 125 critics, many admittedly enjoyed Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance, taking to social media to sing odes to the rapper despite the drama and backlash trailing him. Last month, The Real Housewives of New York star Bethenny Frankel shared her thoughts on the show, describing it as “awesome.” Many fans agreed with her, flooding her comments section with praise for Lamar and his critically acclaimed Super Bowl Halftime performance. Regardless, there’s no denying that his “pedophile” allegation against Drake has stoked flames that may prove difficult to put out.
