Kendrick Lamar skips over ‘pedophile’ lyric in Super Bowl 2025 halftime show amid Drake feud

Kendrick Lamar continued to parade his feud with Drake during his Super Bowl 2025 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 to introduce the set dressed as Uncle Sam and then Lamar, 37, took the stage to perform hits like “Squabble Up,” “Humble,” “DNA,” “Euphoria” and “Man at the Garden.”

He was also joined by a black vehicle and 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.

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

About 10 minutes into his 13-minute set, Lamar was joined on stage by his longtime friend and collaborator, SZA. The two reunited on stage to perform “Luther” and “All the Stars.”

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

Although he skipped controversial words — like “pedophile” — the California-born rapper still included other lyrics that heavily implied that the Canadian artists likes underage women.

Lamar concluded by bringing out DJ Mustard for “TV Off.” Swifties, though, were likely disappointed as he did not include their 2014 collaboration, “Bad Blood,” in the halftime show.

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 also performed “Not Like Us,” which marked him as the winner in his feud with Drake. WireImage 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,” Lamar 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 his Grammy-winning track, “Not Like Us,” during halftime, the song was blasted in the media conference room as he was introduced to the stage by moderators Ebro Darden and Nadeska Alexis.

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 Super Bowl 2025 halftime show 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. WireImage

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 managed to take home the statuette for song of the year, record of the year, best rap song of the year, best music video of the year and best rap performance of the year.