Opinion: Absurd White Folks Are Crying ‘Reverse Racism’ Over Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime Show

Source: Cindy Ord / Getty

In today’s episode of White People Getting Upset When They’re Not The Default Target Audience, Kendrick Lamar’s performance during the Super Bowl LIX halftime show has caused a lot of controversy across social media, but while most Black people appear to be having a relatively mundane debate about how good the 13-minute set was or wasn’t — as well as how deep the messaging was or wasn’t — white people, especially of the MAGA variety, are crashing out with what appears to be their collective Caucasian question:

What about me?

That’s right — white people have largely (and predictably) responded to K-Dot’s performance by centering themselves either by questioning why white people weren’t included on stage or by balking because they weren’t included culturally.

Even relatively progressive (or liberal at least) media outlets like The Inquisitr have authors writing diet white tearsy nonsense like this:

In the last few years, all the Super Bowl performances have been Black or artists of color, though the entourage looked like America with dancers from all ethnicities. Kendrick Lamar, however, pushed the envelope a little too far without any white performer. This looked too much like reverse racism. These details irked the internet and people were quick to show their annoyance on X.

Calling out Kendrick Lamar and saying DEI would only take you so far, people also mentioned that had the tables been turned and a white performer had only white dancers, the retaliation and criticism would have been immense. They are not wrong though. This looked like a deliberate attempt to pass on some message which no one was taking.

Youd think #Superbowl was an African event! Kendrick Lamar has 100s of dancers,ALL of em black! Havent seen 1 white face! Hes even got Serena Williams dancing & S L Jackson comparing! Can u imagine the uproar if a white artist only had white dancers? WTF is happening 2 the USA?! pic.twitter.com/TZ0FfqnNpg

— The Woman (@TheWomanHolmes) February 10, 2025

Really? So, by not including a white DEI hire in his halftime show performance, Kendrick “pushed the envelope a little too far?”

Look, I’ve written about this before: “For all of American history, white people have been overwhelmingly represented in every pillar of our popular culture. From TV to film to broadcasting, let’s be clear on one thing: No racial demographic has ever been more catered to than white people. “

It’s only within the last decade or so that diversity has been a priority in entertainment, and not a day of that progress has gone by without white people collectively kicking and screaming about it. And those same white people were fine watching programming that didn’t feature a single non-white face for generations. It never even seemed to occur to them that they were the only racial group that enjoyed virtually limitless representation. Once they see themselves excluded, though, they recognize the disparity right away.

Again, the issue isn’t only that white people weren’t featured on that stage — it’s also that the performance, in general, wasn’t designed with them in mind.

You know you’re doing something right when Matt Walsh cries like a baby.

My goodness, but the man can whine, can’t he? Lol. pic.twitter.com/0KR0HJyQVN

— Bonhoeffer's Child (@bonhoefferchild) February 10, 2025

NFL audiences tend to be largely comprised of white football fans who are less likely to be familiar with Lamar’s music, so a lot of white folks, especially those of a certain age, didn’t know the songs. But worse than that, they couldn’t connect with the message, and the fact that some even questioned why there were no white performers shows that. After all, why would they be included in imagery that featured Black people wearing red, white and blue forming the American flag, which many have noted was likely meant to symbolize America being built on the backs and blood of Black people?

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A post shared by Niecy Nash (@niecynash1)

Also, come on, y’all, Serena Williams C-walking on that stage was for us, not them.

White people are accustomed to being the default target audience for anything mainstream culture-related, and that would certainly include anything that would be featured on a Super Bowl stage. Things in the entertainment world have changed, and they’re just going to keep crying about it in hopes that the pendulum swings back their way at the expense of everyone else.

That’s what their anti-woke nonsense is all about, and they show it every time.

SEE ALSO:

Serena Williams Hit The Stage With Kendrick Lamar At Super Bowl LIX—And It Was Everything

Kendrick Lamar Performs ‘Not Like Us’ During Super Bowl Halftime Show, Social Media Beyond Hype

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