““ANTI INDUSTRY” but submits to every industry award”- Netizens react as Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl Halftime Show gets 4 Emmy nominations

Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl Halftime Show has received four Emmy nominations. The rapper headlined the show, featuring SZA and more artists, on February 9, 2025.

Kendrick's song, Not Like Us, won five Grammy Awards on February 2 this year, including the Song of the Year. A week later, he performed at the Super Bowl Halftime Show as the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs.

His performance has now earned four Emmy nominations, which are:

• Outstanding Music Direction
• Choreography (Variety/Reality)
• Outstanding Variety Special (Live)
• Outstanding Directing For a Variety Special

Fans online have reacted to the rapper getting four nominations, as one X user wrote:

"“ANTI INDUSTRY” but submits to every industry award he possibly can" "UMG doing whatever they can to give him his final award before he gets exposed lmao," another wrote. "i speak for everyone when i say it was the worst halftime show ever," another commented.

Many fans, however, were excited by the nominations and also referenced K-Dot's wins at the Grammys and BET Awards this year, as one user wrote:

"All this winning is getting boring" "SOMEONE GO HAND HIM AN EMMY RIGHT NOW," another tweeted. "Well deserved. Kendrick didn’t just perform — he delivered a cultural statement. From visuals to choreography, it was pure artistry on the biggest stage. 4 Emmy nods and every one of them earned," another commented.

Also Read: Pusha T suggests Def Jam’s issue with Kendrick Lamar’s verse on the Clipse album is rooted in the legal issues surrounding “Not Like Us”

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Drake has sued UMG regarding Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us and Super Bowl Halftime Show

Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show (Image Source: Getty)

Kendrick Lamar released Not Like Us on May 4, 2024, as a diss track during his feud with Drake. The song was a hit with fans and critics, winning Song of the Year at the Grammys and other awards.

In January, Drake sued Universal Music Group (UMG), claiming they promoted the song to damage his reputation, especially objecting to lyrics like "certified pedophile." In April, he updated the lawsuit to also include Kendrick’s Super Bowl Halftime Show.

Drake's lawyer, Michael Gottlieb, stated in the amended lawsuit (h/t Billboard):

“Kendrick Lamar would not have been permitted to perform during the Super Bowl Performance unless the word ‘pedophile’… was omitted from the lyrics — that is because nearly everyone understands that it is defamatory to falsely brand someone a ‘certified pedophile’." "The NFL, as well as the corporate entities responsible for the televised and streaming broadcasts of the Super Bowl Performance, all understood the words 'certified pedophile' to be unacceptable in a broadcast to millions of listeners,” he added.

Also Read: Drake names the person he thinks helped UMG boost Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” with artificial streams in court filing

Kendrick Lamar didn't use the lyrics "certified pedophile" during his Super Bowl Halftime performance but kept the other lyrics unchanged. Notably, Drake's lawsuit doesn't mention the Los Angeles rapper as one of the defendants, but it mainly focuses on UMG.

The label, meanwhile, has denied all allegations and moved to dismiss the One Dance singer's lawsuit. They have also added Kendrick to their motion for potential evidence required from the making and production of the song.

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Edited by Divya Singh