The Super Bowl Halftime Show Spurred Unoriginal 'DEI' Digs — But We Know What They're Really Saying
Lamar ― a Black Grammy-winning artist from Compton, California, who won a Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2018 ― made history becoming the first solo hip-hop performer to headline the big halftime event. Some prominent conservatives on X, formerly Twitter, were evidently distressed over his groundbreaking show, calling his music 'garbage' and complaining that they couldn't comprehend him. Other right-wingers opted to weaponize the term DEIby labeling the Super Bowlperformance, which celebrated aspects of Black culture, as an example of 'DEI.'
People on X, formerly Twitter, have since pointed out that the DEI-related messaging surrounding the halftime show seems clear: DEI, for many, is code word for Black people. And this is not the first time DEI critics have appeared to use the term as a dog whistle to discredit the qualifications of Black people, and other marginalized groups.
They're calling it a DEI halftime because they use DEI as a slur…
— Nina Turner (@ninaturner) February 10, 2025
There are real problems with the ideology around DEI. But this is a reminder that to some people "DEI" just means "anything with black people."No one is oppressed because the halftime show was cast with black performers. People need to stop being such delicate snowflakes. pic.twitter.com/KlTgXv5rbX
— Billy Binion (@billybinion) February 10, 2025
If you didn't like the halftime show, coolBut inserting the DEI because you're mad It then becomes racist..
— Zoe Leigh 🇺🇸🌹 (@mrstealyourwig1) February 10, 2025
What Jack means is that he doesn't like Black people. When MAGA says 'DEI' they mean people of color. Racist pieces of trash should always be called out. Jack, you're an insecure, racist loser. pic.twitter.com/KvfFob56Hl
— Harry Sisson (@harryjsisson) February 10, 2025
Other X users called some of the DEI attacks hypocritical, since some critics complained about a lack of racial diversity in Lamar's performance, which spotlighted Black dancers and other prominent Black stars like singer SZA, tennis legend Serena Williams and actor Samuel L. Jackson.
Lmaoo now you want DEI?
— Why Stop Now🤷🏽♂️ (@Down4Mizzou) February 10, 2025
DEI is overrrr! What's pathetic is you publicly crying on X and letting everyone know you were looking for 1 white person in a NFL half-time show. I thought y'all were boycotting anyway.
— Shawn's Perspective (@Shawns_Values) February 10, 2025
If the halftime show had people of every race represented some folks would complain it was DEI - Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. It never occurred to them that an artist could just have an entirely Black cast. 🤣
— Decoding Fox News (@DecodingFoxNews) February 10, 2025
Conservatives have been ramping up attacks on actual DEI practices for years, and Trump's recent executive actions against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts have already had real consequences since he took office last month.
During his inaugural address, the president broached the topic of race by saying, 'We will forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based.' His rhetoric surrounding meritocracy — and other attacks on DEI — suggests that people representing marginalized groups don't actually earn their achievements. But as Parker McMullen Bushman, CEO and founder of Ecoinclusive Strategies, previously told HuffPost, DEI practices are instead about 'recognizing talent that has historically been ignored or undervalued.'
And as with so many other cases, suggestions that Lamar wasn't qualified to perform at the Super Bowl couldn't be further from the truth. Lamar's rap beef with Drake dominated the mainstream music and pop culture world this past year. His hit diss track 'Not Like Us' had topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and it earned him five Grammy awards earlier this month.
Lamar emphasized the influential role hip-hop and rap have on music culture overall during a speech onstage at the Grammys.
'At the end of the day, nothing more powerful than rap music — I don't care what it is,' he said while accepting the award for Song of the Year. 'We are the culture, it's going to always stay here and live forever ... I just hope you respect the art form.'
Rap mogul Jay-Z, whose Roc Nation company served as co-executive producers of the halftime show, previously said in a statement announcing Lamar as the headliner that the Compton rapper has the 'ability to define and influence culture globally.'
Lamar has long used his music as a vehicle for storytelling about different Black experiences in America — and this year's Super Bowl performance was no different.
The performance was 'consistent with his brand of artistry, which masterfully centers culture while making a statement — and it's always done in a way that is so rich yet so nuanced that it deeply resonates with Black people in this country,' Danielle Bell, associate professor at Northwestern University, told HuffPost.
And for those criticizing Lamar's Super Bowl performance for celebrating and focusing on hip-hop/rap and Black culture, Bell says: 'It absolutely did.'
'So the question then becomes, 'Why are you criticizing that?''
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