Lil Jon Backs Maroon 5’s Decision to Cancel Halftime Press Conference
Lil Jon has recently made it known that he supports Maroon 5 in their decision to cancel their press conference discussing the band’s Super Bowl halftime show with journalists.
Maroon 5 was supposed to speak with the media yesterday to promote their Super Bowl 53 appearance (all artists who play the halftime show traditionally do a press conference) but decided to cancel and let the show speak for itself.
“When you come in and just want to give a great show, but you got all of these other distractions, it’s like ‘Let’s not talk about it.’ Let’s deal with the show,” Lil Jon told The Associated Press after his performance at the Pepsi Brunch Party on Thursday. “Let people see the show. So, I get it.”
The reason for Maroon 5’s decision to cancel the press junket is unclear. During halftime, the band will be joined by rapper and Georgia native Big Boi of Outkast and rapper and producer Travis Scott.
In 2016, former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem, which spearheaded a slew of protests to raise awareness around police brutality against black citizens. Lil Jon also subtly mentioned that the controversy regarding the NFL protests may be a reason why Maroon 5 opted out of talking to reporters about their halftime show.
“It just a lot going on around this Super Bowl, the music and halftime show, so maybe they just don’t want to deal with that and just want the people to see the show,” Jon told The Associated Press.
Lil Jon is featured in Pepsi’s Super Bowl commercial alongside Cardi B and Steve Carell. The “Turn Down For What” rapper will also be performing at former NBA player Shaquille O’Neal’s “Shaq’s Fun House,” which is circus-themed Super Bowl party that includes performances by Migos, Diplo and Tiesto.
Glennisha Morgan is a Detroit-bred multimedia journalist and writer. She writes about intersectionality, hip-hop, pop culture, queer issues, race, feminism, and her truth.
