‘DEI hire’: Kid Rock downplays Jay-Z’s involvement in Super Bowl halftime show

The rapper, and occasional Trump syocophant, headlined Turning Point USA’s alternative halftime show, which was heavily panned despite initial viewership numbers.

Jay-Z has earned plenty of praise (and criticism) over the Super Bowl halftime show in recent years but Kid Rock, who got his break as a rapper from the Detroit-area, believes the NFL only placed Hov in the position because he’s Black.

The “American Badass” rapper was a guest on “The Ingraham Angle” on Fox News on Monday (Feb. 9) to discuss the Turning Point halftime show, which he believes was created solely because the NFL put Bad Bunny in the position to perform and the Super Bowl halftime show in general.

”Nothing against Jay-Z, I respect him for his hustle, you know, his music, but it seems like there’s a little bit of a DEI hire there going on,” Kid Rock told Ingraham. “’Oh…Black guys love Jay-Z.’ And of course, I’m not that ignorant, I know a lot of us love Jay-Z, not just Black guys.”

Kid Rock: Nothing against Jay-Z… But it seems like there's a little bit of a DEI hire there going on. pic.twitter.com/E4VFvkHmkq— Acyn (@Acyn) February 10, 2026

He added, “But in the league we have this problem, it seems like, ‘oh, we’ll bring him in’ and so, you know, Jay-Z is not gonna take that position of power and that money, so then they convene, that was a not-for-profit league until they quietly got rid of that tax exempt status at some point, so [NFL commissioner] Roger [Goddell] didn’t have to disclose his salary.”

Rock, who has stumped for Donald Trump since 2016 and previously backed Mitt Romney, headlined the counterprotest performance produced by Turning Point USA on Sunday (Feb. 8). Despite wide viewership claims by the organization, the event itself was pre-recorded, didn’t secure a proper streaming license with X and was widely panned.

He released a video on X on Tuesday stating that, although his performance was pre-recorded, he was not lip-syncing.

Although the official numbers have yet to be released, many believe Bad Bunny will have the most-watched Super Bowl halftime performance of all time, surpassing Kendrick Lamar’s much-discussed performance in 2025. It’s a testament to Jay-Z and Roc Nation’s understanding of the moment and the culture at large.

Since assuming control of the halftime show following the 2019 Super Bowl, where Maroon 5 played along with Travis Scott and Big Boi, the show has seen different performers from all over the musical spectrum, from pop and Latin (Jennifer Lopez/Shakira), pop & R&B (The Weeknd, Usher, Rihanna), and hip-hop (Dr. Dre & friends, Kendrick Lamar). In the NFL’s eyes, having Jay-Z guide the halftime show has been a smash hit, with record viewership that, in some respects, even surpassed the Super Bowl itself.

The NFL partnered with Jay-Z following widespread backlash over Maroon 5’s selection as the halftime performer, in the wake of Colin Kaepernick’s protest and subsequent lawsuit against the league. Rihanna stated she wouldn’t perform at the halftime show that year, but ultimately agreed to do it in 2023. The real question is, who is taking the stage next year in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium?