Listen, a lot of people are saying this—not just Kai, and the video from the stands has been telling. It was kind of quiet—like, real quiet. Twitch streamer Kai Cenat has been leading the charge, insinuating that the crowd noise may have been fabricated.
Get this: Cenat, who was present at the event, suggested that the NFL may have added fake crowd noise to the broadcast. Yikes.
Check it out; while rewatching the performance on a recent Twitch stream, Cenat paused the footage to express his surprise. “Oh my God, they [added] sound effects to the NFL broadcast, oh my God,” he said. “Right, so right here, there was no sound. I just heard crowd sounds… I did not know that.” Cenat, who was at the stadium, continued to clarify his point, asserting, “Crowd was making no noise. I’m just being honest. I was there.”
In fairness, Cenat did acknowledge that the crowd’s energy shifted at key moments. “They were loud when Kendrick first appeared, when Samuel L. Jackson introduced the show, when SZA joined him, and during ‘Not Like Us,’” he noted. He also critiqued the setlist, suggesting Kendrick should have performed different songs to keep the audience engaged. Despite his mixed reaction to the performance, Cenat praised the symbolic aspects of Kendrick’s show. “The symbolism behind that performance was top tier. I paid attention to the sets,” he said.
Meanwhile, another streamer, Plaqueboymax, had an even harsher reaction.
A Super Bowl attendee, Plaqueboymax recorded a vlog that showed his disappointment with Kendrick’s performance. “Whether I like it or not, Kendrick Lamar will perform here,” he said, later jokingly sending a message to Drake: “Aye, this performance ass big bruh u good.” He suggested Kendrick should have performed older material and not allowed his career to be overshadowed by his beef with Drake, though he did acknowledge the crowd’s energy when “Not Like Us” played.
While some stars were all in on Lamar’s performance, NBA star Kevin Durant was not so much. When asked about his thoughts, the future Hall of Famer simply replied, “It meant nothing to me.”
One thing is for sure, the debate surrounding Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime Show highlights how the performance sparked divided opinions across social media platforms.