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The National Football League is removing the “End Racism” tag from its end zones for the upcoming Super Bowl.
The National Football League is moving to remove the “End Racism” phrase from its end zone at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, in time for Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Unnamed sources revealed the decision, which was confirmed by NFL spokesperson Bryan McCarthy in a statement: “Teams have used on the field this year ‘Vote,’ ‘End Racism,’ ‘Stop Hate,’ and ‘Choose Love.’ This is part of the NFL’s Inspire Change,” adding: “Choose Love is appropriate to use as our country has endured in recent weeks wildfires in southern California, the terrorist attack here in New Orleans, the plane and helicopter crash near our nation’s capital, and the plane crash in Philadelphia.”
The “End Racism” phrase was present in the end zone during the NFC Championship Game held at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
The decision marks the first time since 2021 that the “End Racism” phrase will not be in one of the end zones of an NFL game. The “Inspire Change” campaign began after the murder of George Floyd by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin which led to nationwide protests against police brutality. It was also inspired by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and other players’ protests by kneeling on the field. The sources also said that the move, first revealed to higher-level NFL officials, could be seen as being conciliatory towards President Donald Trump, who is reportedly slated to attend the game next Sunday (February 9) as a guest of Gayle Benson, the New Orleans Saints team owner. Trump has been long opposed to efforts of inclusion and anti-racism in the league, particularly during his first presidential term.
The NFL has signaled that it wouldn’t be following the current trend of companies removing their DEI efforts, with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell elaborating further at his Super Bowl press conference on Monday (January 3). “We got into diversity efforts because we felt it was the right thing for the National Football League,” Goodell said. “And we’re going to continue those efforts, because we’ve not only convinced ourselves we’ve proven it to ourselves — it does make the NFL better.”
Seal has never been in truer form than in Mountain Dew’s new Super Bowl commercial, which premiered Wednesday (Feb. 5), featuring the British singer serenading Becky G on a truly wild water safari.
The spot opens with the “Shower” singer cracking open a Baja Blast and taking a sip, which magically transports her onto a raft — driven by the soda company’s own Mountain Dude — through an idyllic mountain-lined stream. The passengers then pull up next to a choir of seals singing atop a rocky formation.
That’s when Seal the musician makes an appearance to perform a parody version of his 1995 Billboard Hot 100-topping hit “Kiss from a Rose” dedicated to Mountain Dew’s product — except he looks a little different. With his human head animated onto a seal’s body, the R&B star belts, “Baby, I compare it to a kiss from a lime on the bay/ Ooh, the more I think of it, it’s strange I’m a seal/ My flippers can’t hold Mountain Dew/ It slips right on through, what a shame.”
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In an extended version of the ad, a baffled Becky G looks on and says, “Well this is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.”
That’s when Seal — the human one, not seal the seal — appears in the back of the boat to quip, “Good looking seal.”
A 30-second cut of the whimsical commercial is expected to air during the Super Bowl broadcast Sunday (Feb. 9), which will find the Kansas City Chiefs facing off against the Philadelphia Eagles with a Halftime Show performance from Kendrick Lamar. Mountain Dew had previously announced that the “Mamiii” artist would be part of the campaign, but Seal’s cameo is a surprise, and in a statement, the “Fly Like an Eagle” artist called it an opportunity he “just couldn’t resist.”
“I had a blast coming up with new lyrics and loved collaborating with their team to bring this campaign to life in such a fun and unexpected way!” Seal shared.
Becky G added, “Partnering with a brand that knows how to bring the energy and get the party started feels like a perfect fit. Prepárate, Super Bowl LIX – vamos a pasarla increíble!”
Watch Seal perform “Kiss From a Lime” for Becky G below.
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Lil Wayne recently made an announcement confirming that he will not be attending the upcoming Super Bowl, adding, “Yall know I’m not gonna be there this week, which means there will be a seat to fill. Shoutout to New Orleans, but I been working on something very special.” He teased a major surprise for Thursday, February 6th, saying, “I got something exciting coming for you. Until then, I’m just chillin.” While he didn’t elaborate on what exactly this “special” surprise is, fans are already buzzing with anticipation.
Given that a few weeks ago, Wayne confirmed there would be a new album in 2025, many are speculating that Thursday’s announcement could be tied to the release date of his highly anticipated project. Fans were disappointed when Lil Wayne wasn’t chosen as the Super Bowl halftime performer, especially with the event being held in his hometown of New Orleans. This new tease is a silver lining for many, who are hoping that the release of new music will make up for that oversight.
With Wayne’s status as one of rap’s all-time greats, any announcement from him is sure to create a buzz, and fans are already eagerly counting down the days until February 6th to see what’s next. Could this be the moment we finally get a release date for his upcoming album? We can’t wait to find out, let Weezy cook.
Lil Wayne is gearing up to make waves ahead of Super Bowl LIX, teasing fans with a mysterious announcement set for Thursday, Feb. 6—just days before the big game in New Orleans.
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While speculation runs wild, the rap legend is keeping details under wraps, fueling anticipation with a cryptic Instagram Story video.
“Y’all know I’m not going to be there this week, which means I guess there’s a seat to fill,” Wayne said. “Shout out to New Orleans, but I’ve been working on something very special. I got something exciting coming for you Thursday, the 6th. Until then… I’m chillin’.”
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Though he hasn’t revealed specifics, fans are already theorizing what Tunechi has in store. Some are hoping for a surprise single or project announcement, while others are speculating about a Super Bowl-related activation.
With his long-teased album Tha Carter VI expected to drop this year, the timing aligns with what could be a major musical moment.
Back in December, Wayne recently publicly addressed his absence from the Super Bowl Halftime Show, where Kendrick Lamar will headline. Some fans initially expected Weezy to join Lamar on stage, given their past collaborations and mutual respect.
However, Wayne confirmed in a recent interview that he wouldn’t be attending the game and had spoken directly with Kendrick to clear up any misunderstandings.
“I’ve spoken to him, and I wish him all the best and I told him he better kill it,” Wayne told Skip Bayless on his show in December, during which the host revealed that he remains “baffled and angry” that his guest was not tapped to perform on the biggest stage there is in his own backyard.
“For whatever reason I believe it’s over my head,” Wayne said as part of what he described as the “general” reason why he thinks he was passed over for the gig during what is traditionally the most-viewed TV program of the year. “I don’t know why, period. Obviously I believe that it’s perfect… I do not know why.”
Wayne’s Carter series has been a dominant force on the Billboard 200, with Tha Carter V debuting at No. 1 in 2018 with 480,000 equivalent album units—his fourth chart-topping album. His most recent project, Tha Fix Before Tha VI, was released in 2023, serving as a precursor to the highly anticipated Tha Carter VI.
In 2023, the New Orleans rapper dropped the mixtape Tha Fix Before That VI (Bonus) featuring Jon Batiste, Euro, Cool & Dre, Fousheé, TheNightAftr, and DMX and he and 2 Chainz released Welcome 2 Collegrove, the follow-up to their 2016 collab album ColleGrove.
While he hasn’t released a full-length project yet this year, the Young Money boss has been active feature-wise. He appeared on French Montana‘s “Splash Brothers” alongside Rick Ross, Flau’jae‘s “Came Out A Beast,” DJ Premier‘s “Ya Don’t Stop” with Ross again and Big Sean, and he was featured on Ye and Ty Dolla $ign‘s Vultures 2 song “Lifestyle.”
When the news broke of Lamar’s upcoming performance in September last year, Weezy was very candid about being passed over. “First of all, I want to say forgive me for the delay. I had to get strength enough to do this without breaking,” said a somber Wayne in an Instagram post at the time.
“I’mma say thank you to every voice, every opinion, all the care, all love and support out there. Your words turned into arms and held me up when I tried to fall back.”
At the time, he said the news “Hurt. It hurt a lot. You know what I’m talking about. It hurt a whole lot. I blame myself for not being mentally prepared for a letdown. And for automatically mentally putting myself in that position like somebody told me that was my position. So I blame myself for that. But I thought that was nothing better than that spot and that stage and that platform in my city, so it hurt. It hurt a whole lot.”
Will Drake’s pending defamation lawsuit stop Kendrick Lamar from performing “Not Like Us” during his Super Bowl halftime performance? Legal experts say it might — but that it really shouldn’t.
Under normal circumstances, it’s silly to even ask the question. Obviously a Super Bowl halftime performer will play their chart-topping banger — a track that just swept record and song of the year at the Grammys and was arguably music’s most significant song of the past year.
But these are very much not normal circumstances. Last month, Drake filed a lawsuit over “Not Like Us,” accusing Universal Music Group of defaming him by boosting the scathing diss track. The case, which doesn’t name Lamar as a defendant, claims UMG spread the song’s “malicious narrative” — namely, that Drake is a pedophile — despite knowing it was false.
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That pending legal action makes it fair to wonder: When Lamar steps onto the world’s biggest stage on Sunday night (Feb. 9), will he face pressure to avoid the whole mess by just skipping “Not Like Us” entirely?
He shouldn’t, legal experts say, and for a pretty simple reason: Drake’s lawsuit against UMG is a legal loser. “I don’t think the case is strong at all,” says Samantha Barbas, a legal historian and an expert in defamation law at the University of Iowa’s College of Law.
For Drake to eventually win the case over “Not Like Us,” he’ll need to show that Lamar’s claims about him are provably false assertions — meaning the average person would hear them and assume Kendrick was stating actual facts. Barbas says that’ll be tough for Drake to do about a diss track, where fans expect bombast and “rhetorical hyperbole” more so than objective reality.
“In the context of a rap battle, the average listener is going to know that the allegations aren’t to be taken seriously,” she says. “Taunts and wild exaggerations are par for the course.”
Another challenge for Drake is that he’s a public figure. Under key First Amendment rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court, a public figure like Drake must show that UMG either knew the lyrics were false or that the company acted with reckless disregard for the truth — a legal standard that’s intentionally difficult to meet so that rich and famous people don’t abuse libel lawsuits to squelch free speech.
“A high-profile public figure like Drake immediately enters the case with a high burden of proof,” says Roy Gutterman, the director of the Newhouse School’s Tully Center for Free Speech at Syracuse University.
UMG’s attorneys will also likely point to the fact that Drake himself made harmful allegations against Kendrick earlier in the same exchange of diss tracks, including that Lamar had abused his fiancée and that one of his children was fathered by another man. Were those defamatory statements of fact, or merely the exercise of artistic license within the conventions of a specific genre of music?
“Factoring in the context here — music and art within an ongoing dispute between rival musicians — he has an even tougher case,” Gutterman says.
So if Drake’s case is likely to eventually be dismissed, then there’s no reason for Kendrick to hold back on Sunday, right?
Not exactly.
For starters, Federal Communications Commission rules prohibit the airing of “obscene, indecent, or profane content” on broadcast television during primetime hours. To avoid those rules, Super Bowl halftime performers typically avoid curse words or overtly sexual material — something that would probably already preclude the “pedophile” line and other lyrics in “Not Like Us.”
Corporate legal departments are also famously risk averse, and often prefer to play it safe rather than potentially face expensive litigation, even if they’d ultimately win. That could lead any of the big companies involved here to put pressure on Kendrick to skip “Not Like Us.” His label, UMG, has vowed to fight back against Drake’s “frivolous” lawsuit, but might not want to add complications mid-litigation; the game’s broadcaster, Fox, or the NFL itself might worry about getting added to the suit as defendants.
Gutterman said it would be “a significant stretch of liability law” for Drake to successfully sue Fox or the NFL simply because Kendrick played “Not Like Us” at the halftime show. But in practice, that might not be how their in-house attorneys are thinking about it.
“The threat of litigation can have a chilling effect on speech,” Barbas says. “The safe thing to do is not to publish or broadcast.”
Reps for Lamar did not return a request for comment on whether he’ll perform the song. The British tabloid newspaper The Sun, citing anonymous sources, reported last week that Kendrick has faced pressure to skip the track but plans to perform it anyway and “won’t be silenced.” But that report could not be confirmed by Billboard and was not widely re-reported by other outlets.
Asked whether they have a position on whether Lamar plays the song, reps for UMG, Fox, the NFL and Roc Nation (Jay-Z’s company that produces the halftime show) all either declined to comment or did not return requests for comment.
When the show kicks off on Sunday night, the most likely outcome is probably somewhere down the middle: That Kendrick plays the song’s already-iconic instrumental hook and perhaps some of the lyrics, but skips any of the portions that are directly at play in Drake’s lawsuit.
“It wouldn’t be surprising,” Barbas says, “if the challenged lyrics are changed.”
The Super Bowl is less than a week away, meaning championship rings are on a lot people’s minds — but is Travis Kelce thinking about another type of ring for Taylor Swift?
While speaking to reporters at the Super Bowl’s opening night in New Orleans Monday (Feb. 3), the tight end was asked whether he plans on popping the question to his superstar girlfriend at the Kansas City Chiefs’ ultimate game against the Philadelphia Eagles this weekend. In response, Kelce smiled coyly.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” he replied cheekily.
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Engagement rumors have surrounded the New Heights podcaster and Swift since early on in their relationship, which began in the summer of 2023. In fact, this latest bout of ring-related speculation mirrors similar questions Kelce dodged ahead of last year’s Super Bowl, which Kansas City went on to win against the San Francisco 49ers.
But while he didn’t clear anything up at Monday’s press conference, Kelce did gush about the “Fortnight” singer’s culinary abilities. “Oh, she is quite the cook,” he said at one point before revealing his favorite dish Swift makes: “Her Pop Tarts are unbelievable.”
“I better hold up my end of the bargain, right?” Kelce added of Swift’s work ethic elsewhere in the Q&A session. “She’s up there being the superstar that she is and never taking no for an answer and always working her tail off. I better match that energy for sure.”
The opening night press junket comes one day after the musician attended the 2025 Grammys, to which Swift arrived solo in a Chiefs-red dress with a “T” charm attached to the hem. She didn’t win any out of her six nominations, but the “Karma” artist did inspire several viral moments during the ceremony’s broadcast, from snagging Janelle Monáe’s jacket to dancing with Alicia Keys’ son Genesis.
The award show marked Swift’s first Grammys since closing out her billion-dollar Eras Tour in December. At one of the run’s final stops, the songwriter played at New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome — the very same stadium where the Super Bowl will take place Sunday (Feb. 9).
While performing “Midnight Rain” at the venue Oct. 28, Swift did one of her boyfriend’s signature dance moves and held up three fingers, seemingly hoping to prime the stadium for a record third Chiefs Super Bowl win in a row. On Monday, Kelce was asked about the gesture.
“We both, we love to manifest things,” he replied, smiling. “Whatever she was doing, I’m sure it helped. And for me, not being able to be here supporting her during those weeks, it made me feel like I was there.”
Fans tuning in to the Super Bowl this weekend will hear a familiar voice, as Shania Twain lends her voice to an all-out “foam party” in the new Coffee Mate Cold Foam Creamer ad, which will air during the Super Bowl on Feb. 9, when the Philadelphia Eagles face off against the Kansas City Chiefs at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
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The five-time Grammy winner is the voice behind the ad’s uptempo pop song “Gimme Cold Foam,” which serves as a love letter to coffee, punctuated by the lines “Gimme cold foam! Gimme cold foam!/ I’m a dancing tongue, and I like the taste of cold foam.” The ad, in which Twain voices a tongue that not only sings and dances, but even does flips, was created by Wieden+Kennedy New York and directed by Dan Streit.
“The song is just so catchy,” Twain tells Billboard of “Gimme Cold Foam.” “It is just very danceable and fun and it just sticks in your brain. It is one of those catchy songs, so I just think it’s a really great little bop.”
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Twain laid down her vocals for the track in a hotel room in Mexico, as she was taking part in Brandi Carlile’s Girls Just Wanna Weekend. “It was so fun. I really get into character singing it, which made it a blast,” Twain recalls of recording the song.
Billboard caught up with Twain to discuss her role in the upcoming Coffee Mate Cold Foam Creamer Super Bowl ad, her hopes for the Super Bowl, and who she would love to see sing the national anthem.
Had you seen the footage for the commercial by the time you recorded the song?
No, I heard the music before I saw the video, which I think was a good idea because I was just attracted to the catchiness of the song. It was this cool, boppy tune and then watching the video, I just laughed. It was cheerful, quirky, funny–and I’m a dancing tongue, man!
What is your favorite coffee?
I’m one of these seasonal coffee people where in the cooler weather I want a hot coffee and in the summer I want a cold brew. And talking about this cold foam, for me, hot coffee, black with cold foam on top and then spoon up the rest. Coffee with the cold foam is more like an ice cream dessert.
You performed at the Super Bowl halftime show in 2003. What do you recall about the performance?
It was a very hectic environment, which I wasn’t expecting, but it wasn’t just your normal, “Okay, you’re on in five minutes.” There was so much rehearsal and a lot of the rehearsal was just getting from the backstage to across the field to the stage and all the security involved and all of this convoy of equipment and everything. It was a huge production and that just built the hype up for me so much more. So it felt like a very epic moment.
Speaking of the Super Bowl, who are you rooting for this year?
I’m not really rooting one way or the other. I really hope it’s a good, strong game, just so that makes it a very exciting game for everyone. I think this game has more anticipation than others because of Taylor [Swift]’s association with the [Kansas City] Chiefs. And of course, I don’t want my friend to go home disappointed. I want her to be happy and feel that joy.
Who would you love to see either sing the national anthem or do the halftime show at the Super Bowl?
I want to see Brandi Carlile. I don’t think she’s ever done the national anthem. It would be the ultimate.
See the Coffee Mate Cold Foam Creamer ad below:
If you asked H.E.R. what her life’s purpose is, she’d tell you it’s to inspire women and young girls. It’s no accident, then, that many of the major projects she’s taken on over the past couple of years have fallen in line with that mission, from contributing her newly Oscar-nominated Diane Warren collaboration “The Journey” to Tyler Perry’s Six Triple Eight — about the all-Black, all-female 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion of World War II — to examining her own definitions of womanhood and empowerment on a highly anticipated followup to 2021’s Back of My Mind, which she’s teased is arriving at some point in 2025. And now, H.E.R. is turning her focus on girls in sports, reimagining Bruce Springsteen’s iconic 1975 hit “Born to Run” for Dove’s moving new Super Bowl commercial that premiered Tuesday (Feb. 4) with an important message at its center.
Her full version of the track will arrive one day later.
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In the 30-second spot — which will air during fourth quarter of the ultimate Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles game Sunday (Feb. 9) — a breathless 3-year-old girl sprints through her suburb as H.E.R.’s buoyant take on The Boss’ anthem plays. “These legs are unstoppable,” onscreen text reads. “At 14, she’ll think they’re unbearable.”
Reminding viewers how frequently young female athletes hear critiques about their bodies, the commercial then calls on it’s audience to “change the way we talk to our girls.” It’s a directive that feels especially poignant considering the popularity boom women’s sports have seen in recent years (thanks in no small part to powerhouses like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese), as well as the sociopolitical influx in online communities picking apart players’ appearances (thetransphobic hate cisgender Algerian boxer Imane Khelif experienced during the 2024 Olympics comes to mind). And it’s definitely something that weighs on H.E.R.’s mind as a former athlete and role model to her 18-year-old and 3-year-old sisters, which is why she says she jumped at the chance to translate “Born to Run” into a heartfelt tribute for young girls all over the world.
“I’m seeing myself in all of these young girls and thinking about all these things that we forget to appreciate,” she tells Billboard. “I have a body that simply moves, and I love all the things that it can do.”
“We’re born to run,” she adds, her voice swelling with passion. “There’s so many layers to that message. It’s like you’re born to be exactly who you are, to chase your path and follow your own dreams and your own heart. It’s not about anyone else. You’re born uniquely you.”
Speaking over Zoom just one day ahead of the premiere of Dove’s new campaign, the singer-guitarist broke down how she made Springsteen’s signature song her own, revealed how the project informed her upcoming album’s sound and explained why she aligns so strongly with the brand’s message. Read her conversation with Billboard below.
How did you approach re-recording such a famous song?
The song itself is so iconic, I didn’t want to do a complete left turn in my recreation of it. It’s so uplifting and joyful, and “born to run,” it’s the perfect lyric. It’s the perfect message, and kind of the perfect pace for a message like this.
It was all about the image of this young girl — keeping that in mind was the most important thing. We started with drums to kind of keep the energy but still make it my own, and I played some guitars on it to keep that iconic lead. It was all about adding even more soul to it. That iconic line that’s usually just the guitar line, I turned into vocals. I like doing things like that — taking pieces from the instrumentation and turning them into vocals — and my vocals definitely make [the song] a little more feminine.
Is Bruce a personal hero of yours?
Oh my gosh, absolutely. I love Bruce. I grew up listening to a lot of Bruce with my dad. He’s iconic.
I actually got to meet him two years ago and he was so sweet. I was like, “I’m such a big fan, my name’s Gabi.” He was like, “Oh my god, H.E.R., I’m such a big fan of you, I’ve mentioned you in interviews, you really rock out on stage.” And I’m like, “Man, I get it from you!”
Why does the message of the campaign resonate with you personally?
Where do I begin? A lot of my purpose has been to encourage women to be authentic and comfortable in their own skin and embrace who they are. That to me is one of the most important things I could ever do on this planet. That’s always been my mission, so that’s really what got me excited about this. It’s really perfect timing — I’ve been working on an album and the messaging of this album has really been about empowerment.
I have younger sisters, and it’s always so important for me to show them that they’re — I don’t want to say “enough.” I think we’ve outgrown that word. I think it’s to show them that who they are is perfectly imperfect, you know what I mean? We live in this age of social media, and comparison, like they say, is really the thief of joy. I’ve definitely experienced not feeling adequate. I’ve felt like, “Oh, maybe I need to change this about me, I need to fit into this mold.” But I’ve realized that there is no mold. I’ve tried to maintain that in my own life and exemplify that.
Speaking of your new album, what can you tell us about it?
I’ve been working on it in the midst of this [campaign]. It’s funny, because working on “Born to Run,” working on a Springsteen song, I feel like it’s only enhancing my process in the studio. I’m playing a lot more guitar on this album. And again, [the album] is all about empowerment. It was just perfect timing.
It’s this exploration of femininity and what it means to be a woman, what it means to me, what it means to depend on people around you and depend on yourself and love yourself, and what community means. What your expectations of love are, and the expectations you put on yourself. Just learning how to stand on my own.
It’s a lot of accepting ugly. And I mean that to say the parts of myself that I may ignore, that I think haven’t been enough. The parts that I may be afraid to face. It’s really been about embracing those things and empowering myself, not in the way that you’d expect, where it’s all about being triumphant … It’s more like, it’s OK not to be OK. It’s okay to be in the process of healing. You’re never fully healed. Just trusting the process and being OK with it.
One of your recent projects, “The Journey,” recently earned a best original song nomination ahead of the 2025 Oscars. How does that feel?
Oh my gosh, it’s crazy. I’m super excited about the song. It’s such a powerful song, and it’s also a really, really powerful movie — again, about women empowerment, and under-appreciated women. These stories hadn’t been heard. I feel blessed to be a part of that story, in a small way.
Women’s sports are more popular than ever, but with that there’s been an uptick in certain people picking apart women athletes for not looking “feminine enough.” With that in mind, why is this campaign more important than ever?
It’s discouraging. Telling a woman that her body is not the right type, or that she needs to look a certain way, or that she’s not “feminine enough” — what does that even mean? It just shows you what society’s idea of what’s feminine is, and it’s just not right. This message was definitely to break that barrier.
I played sports in high school and middle school, and I’m really grateful that my parents gave me that confidence to not care. But there’s definitely that shyness in the locker room, there’s those moments of, “Oh man, I’m afraid of myself. I’m afraid that people won’t accept me, that people won’t like me, despite my gifts or my ability.” You should never be discouraged to do something that you love and are passionate about because of the way you look.
There’s also been an outpouring of women expressing fear and uncertainty following the results of the 2025 election. Was that on your mind at all when working on this project?
I think, in general, we can’t live our lives in fear, no matter what. It’s all about empowering each other — I think that’s what it comes down to.
Hear H.E.R.’s cover of “Born to Run” in Dove’s new Super Bowl ad below.
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Kendrick Lamar is upping the ante when it comes to his Super Bowl appearance. The “Not Like Us” rapper has partnered with Willy Chavarria for a capsule collection in honor of the big game.
Source: Diego Bendezu / Diego Bendezu
As spotted on GQ, the 2025 edition of football’s biggest night will come with some very unique wearables. Designer Willy Chavarria has curated merch in conjunction with Kendrick Lamar. While the drop covers your usual streetwear staples (i.e., t-shirts, shorts, hooded sweatshirts, etc.) it is clear the creative had a specific narrative in mind he was trying to convey with the overall aesthetic.
Featured throughout all the items is bold typography that incorporates some of Kendrick Lamar’s lyrics from GNX. “FOOT UP ON THE GAS, BUT SOMEBODY GOTTA DO IT” is featured on the hoodies. This collection is also is a nod to sports. We not only get some NFL emblem integration but apparel like performance jerseys and a satin varsity jacket.
The Kendrick Lamar Super Bowl Halftime performance capsule collection is available now. Proceeds from this drop will go support to those impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires.
Matthew McConaughey has a conspiracy theory about football that dates back hundreds of years — and he’s recruiting Charli XCX, Martha Stewart and more stars to convince people it’s true in a hilarious Super Bowl commercial for Uber Eats.
Premiering Tuesday (Feb. 4), the 90-second spot — which will air during the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles game on Sunday (Feb. 9) — opens with the Interstellar star telling viewers, “From the very beginning, football has been a conspiracy to make us hungry.”
He then defends his thesis by starring in flashbacks to important moments in his version of football history, including the inception of the “pigskin” nickname — to “make people crave bacon,” as McConaughey and costar Kevin Bacon explain to a group of players in the 1800s — and the decision to name the Green Bay Packers after meatpackers, while their fans are called “cheeseheads.” At one point, Hot Ones host Sean Evans makes a fitting cameo as he and the How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days actor decide on the Buffalo Bills’ team name over a plate of Buffalo wings.
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Flash forward to 2025, and McConaughey says that the Super Bowl gods “aren’t even hiding it anymore.” Presiding over a conference table where the “Von Dutch” singer sits next to Stewart, the Oscar winner points out that this year’s Halftime Show is “presented by an apple” — at which point Charli takes a smug bite out of a Granny Smith, a reference to both her Brat song “Apple” and the name of the tech company sponsoring Kendrick Lamar’s highly anticipated mid-game performance Sunday (Feb. 9).
One person who doesn’t buy McConaughey’s theory, however, is filmmaker Greta Gerwig, who tells him at the end, “No one believes that football is just some conspiracy to sell food.”
It was first announced that Charli and the domestic doyenne would star in the McConaughey-led Super Bowl campaign in late January. At the time, the Grammy winner also joined Stewart for a round of “We Listen and We Don’t Judge” for the food delivery company, as well as broke down football positions in club terms.
“It was cute filming my first Super Bowl campaign with Uber Eats!” Charli said in a statement at the time. “Matthew and Martha are obviously legends, so I felt right at home.”
The musician is just one of several music stars fans can expect to see grace their TV screens come Super Bowl Sunday. Also appearing in lucrative game-day ads are Post Malone — who appears alongside Shane Gillis and Peyton Manning in Bud Light’s 2025 campaign — and Mountain Dew partner Becky G.
See Charli and Stewart in Uber Eats’ Super Bowl commercial below.