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TMZ
  • 2/6/2025
Kendrick Lamar is about to find out if his smash hit "Not Like Us" is as popular with NFL and network lawyers and execs as it is with the public -- and his Super Bowl Halftime Show hangs in the balance.

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00:00a little news conference down in New Orleans today and maybe the only time that Drake would
00:06want to watch a pre-Super Bowl news conference because...
00:10He wants to find out, is Kendrick going to do the obvious, which he's going to do, right?
00:14I will say this, if Drake wasn't watching it, his lawyers definitely were because they're
00:19watching the Super Bowl very closely.
00:23They've said in this defamation lawsuit they filed that they feel like Universal Music
00:28Group colluded with the NFL and Roc Nation to get Kendrick on the Super Bowl halftime
00:34stage where he could perform Not Like Us and inflict the most pain and injury to Drake's
00:41reputation by singing Not Like Us.
00:44Singing a particular verse.
00:45And singing the certified pedophile line.
00:48So look, he's definitely going to do the song.
00:52Definitely.
00:53And when he started the news conference, I think he tipped his hand.
00:56If anybody had any doubt, he's going to play it.
00:59Please welcome Kendrick Lamar.
01:02Y'all got to make some more noise than that.
01:10Now, of course, he didn't actually do any of the rap there.
01:13You got to wait until Sunday for that.
01:16They didn't play the part of the song.
01:18They just did instrumental.
01:20And I think, let's be honest, this is all for television.
01:24This is theater.
01:26They don't want to give away whether he's good.
01:28And they didn't give it away.
01:29But I will say this.
01:30I've spoken to people connected to the NFL, people connected to Kendrick, and they're
01:38expecting he is going to do the song and he is going to do those lines.
01:43Absolutely.
01:44He did it at the Grammys.
01:45And he even said during the news conference, well, he didn't perform in the Grammys.
01:49No, but they played it at the Grammys.
01:50They played it.
01:51CBS did.
01:52Isn't this so risky though?
01:53I mean.
01:54Is it?
01:56No, Drake is obviously willing to sue.
01:58A hundred and thirty-ish million people are going to watch this game.
02:01Is that a problem, really, that Fox wants?
02:05I think it's a PR lawsuit.
02:06He didn't file a lawsuit.
02:08When he filed that suit, he did not sue Kendrick.
02:10So if you're Kendrick, you say, look, he didn't sue me when I put the song out.
02:14Well, no, no, you're right.
02:15But the question is, will Fox bleep it if he does it?
02:17So the steps here.
02:20He's going to do the song.
02:21Right.
02:22He's going to sing the lyrics.
02:23Absolutely.
02:24The decision falls on Fox and the NFL as to whether or not they censor it at all.
02:31Do they have pressure now that CBS went out and did it?
02:35Mm-hmm.
02:36CBS played, not only played it, he slow played himself when he walked up on stage so that
02:40you could hear that verse.
02:42The only difference between the Grammys and the Super Bowl is that ten times more people
02:46are going to be watching the Super Bowl.
02:48Right.
02:49At minimum.
02:50And look, yesterday, here, the way this works for every Super Bowl halftime, by the way,
02:56the performer on the Wednesday before the game delivers all of their lyrics to the network
03:03and to the league.
03:04And then the lawyers all get in a room.
03:06They pour over all the lyrics to see if there's anything that, but you're right, in this case.
03:11This is where you and I disagree.
03:12No, no, no.
03:13They made the.
03:14I'm just telling you what they do.
03:15What they normally do.
03:16And that's what they did yesterday.
03:17I know that for a fact.
03:18I've spoken to people in New Orleans.
03:20But wait a minute.
03:21Hold on.
03:22Can I please get my.
03:23Do it.
03:24Get it out.
03:25Do it.
03:26So they go over all the lyrics.
03:27Now, you are right.
03:28They knew about this lyric heading in.
03:30What they didn't know is for sure whether he was going to do it.
03:33They now know he's going to do it.
03:35So now they have to decide what are they going to do?
03:39And I can't tell you what the lawyers have decided yet at this point.
03:44But there is some risk.
03:47And I know you're acting like there is no risk.
03:49No, no, no.
03:50I'm not acting like there is no risk.
03:51What I'm what I disagree with you on is I know they may have had a meeting yesterday.
03:55They made this decision a long time.
03:56I will tell you when they actually.
03:58I will tell you.
03:59They actually invited him.
04:00OK, they didn't because it wasn't an issue when they invited him.
04:04Well, after.
04:05OK, after the lawsuit.
04:06When the lawsuit was filed.
04:07I will tell you this, that when the lawsuit was filed, it was not even on the radar.
04:11They weren't thinking about it until they read our story about the lawsuit.
04:17And then they started hand wringing about what are we going to do?
04:20What are we going to do?
04:21I get it.
04:22But at that moment, when they when he sues Universal, they've got to sit down and say
04:27I don't think that lawyers take the temperature over what's happened, that what happened at
04:32the Grammys doesn't know into their decision.
04:35I'll tell you why not.
04:36I'll tell you why not.
04:37A, he could still sue the Grammy.
04:38He could still sue CBS.
04:39Absolutely.
04:40That's number one.
04:41Right.
04:42I mean, it does.
04:43You know, if CBS does it, Fox may say they're just off a cliff now and they're going to
04:48get sued.
04:49And we're we're lawsuit averse and we're not going to do it.
04:51Right.
04:52I think they've calculated this and they've got a plan.
04:55If he says that if he plays that lyric or sings it, even if he says he won't, if he
05:00does, which he could, they're going to hit that button or not.
05:03Right.
05:04I think they've talked about that as soon as the Universal lawsuit.
05:06And they're both, by the way, the NFL has someone with a finger on a button and then
05:11Fox has someone with a finger on the button.
05:14So does one cancel the other out if they push it at the same time?
05:18There's like a three second difference.
05:20So there's the delay.
05:23No, I don't think they will cancel each other out.

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