Moral of Kendrick Lamar Super Bowl Halftime Show, According to Fans: ‘Never Beef With Kendrick’

There were a lot of messages woven throughout Kendrick Lamar‘s Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday night (Feb. 9). But the main message social media commentators took away from the spectacle was: Don’t mess with Kendrick Lamar.

Leading up to Super Bowl Sunday, a lot was made about whether Lamar would perform his Billboard Hot 100-topping Drake diss track “Not Like Us.” Not only does Drake have an ongoing lawsuit against Universal Music Group over the song, but there are some pretty crystal-clear accusations made in the lyrics. Lamar played around with that debate throughout the performance, but in the end, he performed the five-time Grammy-winning track — “A minor” shout-out and all.

The move had X users marveling at Lamar’s audacity, with one posting a photo of the rapper’s knowing smile at the camera with the caption: “The face of a true chaotic good. … Kendrick is a menace.” Alongside the same image, another X user wrote, “THIS MAN KENDRICK LAMAR JUST SMILED IN THE CAMERA AFTER COOKING DRAKE … LMFAOOOOOO.”

Some fans were truly impressed with Lamar’s status as a petty king. “I know – as petty as I am, I’ll never be as petty as Kendrick,” X user Ali B wrote. “He is a North star of petty. An innovator when it comes to hating. An inspiration.” Another wrote alongside a GIF of a seething Goku from Dragon Ball Z: “Kendrick back stage summoning all of his hatred for this performance.”

Fellow rapper JPEGMAFIA declared, “It’s over. Never beef with kendrick.” Alongside a photo of the “GAME OVER” message illuminated in the Caesars Superdome crowd at the end of halftime, a user shared, “Kendrick killed it. Game over.”

See more reaction to Lamar’s 2025 Super Bowl halftime show below.