Although Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance left many viewers stunned, it still wasn’t quite as stunning as Kid Rock’s mental gymnastics of a reaction.

On Friday’s episode of Real Time with Bill Maher, the 3x Grammy nominee shared his two cents as someone who “understands the culture,” before going on to rant that Lamar’s set was the “epitome of DEI blowing up.”

“To put it nicely, it wasn’t my cup of tea, but I got to respect it,” he told Maher. “And here’s why: I grew up loving, emulating all things hip-hop, break dancing, deejaying, graffiti, rapping, and so I understand the culture a little bit more than most. And when I say most, of course, I mean white people.

“So when you’re watching it, after, it’s a lot of things going through your head, you know, everyone’s like, ‘that sucked,’ this that and the other. I’m like, this kid pretty much came out figuratively with both middle fingers in the air, doing what he does for the people who love what he does, unapologetically. And I don’t think he gives a frog’s fat ass what anyone thinks about it. … So I go, huh, it’s pretty much how I built my whole career. I gotta respect it.”

Rock continued, “I’ve heard nobody answer this question: how did he get that gig? Jay-Z. What happened there? I think Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar should both send Colin Kaepernick a Bundt cake and a six-pack of beer and a ‘thank you’ note with a bunch of money in it, because without him kneeling and getting everyone’s panties in a bunch over the anthem, self-included, I don’t think that happens.”

Kendrick Lamar performs onstage during the Super Bowl LIX halftime show on Feb. 9, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Before Maher could move on, Rock insisted on sharing “one more point,” as he claimed Lamar’s performance “was the epitome of DEI blowing up” due to its lack of white people.

“Because the NFL was all this DEI, end racism, all this stuff,” ranted Rock. “They got Jay-Z in there booking this. Kendrick Lamar goes out there and basically turns DEI into an IED. It’s all Black people, or all people of color, speaking to his crowd in the hood, Black people. It was like the most exclusive thing ever and I’m like, ‘F— yeah, that’s awesome.’ I’m laughing my ass off.”

Following a diss track battle with Drake, Lamar set his sights on the Canadian rapper once again during his halftime show, which featured appearances from SZA, Samuel L. Jackson and Drake’s ex Serena Williams. The red-white-and-blue themed performance was also steeped in metaphorical imagery as President Donald Trump was in attendance during the big game, which fell on Black History Month.