Things are getting a little uneasy in the Big Easy. According to Nola.com, ahead of Kendrick Lamar‘s anticipated halftime show at Feb. 9’s Super Bowl LIX, a group of 17 Republican Louisiana legislators sent a letter to the leaders of the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation and the Louisiana Stadium and Expo District claiming that the state’s taxpayers should have a say in what takes place during the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles.
Specifically, the note called out what is deemed a “lewd” performance by Rihanna in 2023 and the 2020 halftime show by Jennifer Lopez, during which they said the singer “wore little clothing and was groped by male and female dancers on stage, while the performer made sexually suggestive gestures and performed on a stripper pole.”
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“While certainly a large amount of support exists among many Louisianians who are excited about the Super Bowl coming back to New Orleans, many are also hardworking taxpayers with children who have serious concerns about the fact that past Super Bowl halftime performances have been less than family-friendly,” the letter read.
The note does not specifically name Lamar, instead focusing on some past performances, including the infamous 2004 Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake “wardrobe malfunction,” while devoting half a paragraph to a vivid description of Rihanna’s halftime show. It describes the singer “groping herself while she sang song lyrics that were so offensive that few Louisiana adults could read those lyrics before an audience without shame.”
The signatories to the letter said they refused to repeat the lyrics in their note because they are “so offensive.”
“We realize that these past vulgar performances may have been acceptable to the residents of those states where those Super Bowls were held but, in Louisiana, these lewd acts are inappropriate for viewing by children, objectify women, and are simply NOT welcomed by the majority of Louisiana parents,” they wrote.
This year’s game will take place at the Caesars Superdome in the city known for its generous embrace of all manner of debaucherous behavior, including nearly round-the-clock drunken, boisterous tourists stumbling through the legendary French Quarter and women hoisting up their shirts to expose themselves for beads during Mardi Gras.
And while the lawmakers acknowledged that the contracts for next month’s Super Bowl are already signed, they expressed a wish that future contracts for the use of facilities “funded and paid for by Louisiana taxpayers” ensure, in writing, that any performers’ conduct adheres to “Louisiana’s community decency standards.”
Pulitzer Prize honoree and 17-time Grammy winner Lamar will be joined by four-time Grammy winner SZA for this year’s halftime show.
Read the full letter here.
