Snoop Dogg: Jay-Z threatened to end NFL partnership over halftime show
Warning: Story contains coarse language
Snoop Dogg claims Jay-Z gave the NFL an ultimatum over the Super Bowl LVI halftime show.
Snoop, who headlined the halftime show alongside Dr. Dre, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar, recalled how Jay-Z went to bat for the performers in an interview with Tidal's Elliott Wilson.
"Jay was the first one that came to the dressing room when I got offstage," Snoop said. "We had (300 Entertainment CEO) Kevin Liles in there. Kevin Liles had Jay on FaceTime, trying to show him where we was at. So then he came down, and soon as he came in, he hugged me. We hug each other tight. It was as if we won a championship.
"Like, you know when you're genuinely happy for each other? People don't understand, me and him are the ones. He's the one on the East. I'm the one from the West. We love each other. Like not secretly, like publicly, we love each other.
"It is what it is, so it's like for him to go to bat for us and tell the NFL, 'F--- that. They perform or I quit,' that was the most gangster shit out of everything. Then with attire and kneeling and all this ... you can't wear your gangbang shit? Jay-Z hit me like, 'Wear what the f--- you want to wear. Peace to the Gods.'"
Jay-Z and his company Roc Nation entered into a partnership with the league in 2019 to enhance the NFL's live game experiences, including the Super Bowl halftime show, and assist with social justice efforts.
There were rumors that the league took issue with Eminem kneeling during this year's halftime show, presumably in solidarity with former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, but league spokesperson Brian McCarthy and Dr. Dre both denied the report.