Lil Jon closed out the NFL’s slate of Thanksgiving halftime entertainment by performing at Thursday night’s Baltimore Ravens vs. Cincinnati Bengals game.
Viewers watching the game at home were only able to catch a handful of seconds of the 54-year-old rapper’s performance.
Rather than broadcast Lil John’s halftime show during the Ravens vs. Bengals game, NBC opted to show a feature about John Madden’s coaching legacy. The feature was narrated by Andy Reid and also included interviews with Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs, and former Raiders players Art Shell, Gus Otto and Phil Villapiano, among others.
After the feature wrapped, NBC cut to commercial. Upon returning, they showed what was roughly a 15-second clip of Lil Jon’s performance before airing more ads and preparing to return to play.
The decision not to air Lil Jon’s halftime show irked NFL fans and entertainment afficionados who were expecting to see the rapper’s full performance, especially after seeing Fox and CBS air the entirety of Jack White and Post Malone’s performances, respectively. Those fans took to social media to express their displeasure with NBC’s decision:
Though viewers were upset, NBC’s strategy was nothing new. It aligns with the network’s other Thanksgiving halftime presentations since it became a staple in the NFL’s holiday rotation in 2013. Each year, NBC has presented an in-depth, human-interest feature during the halftime show, which is then followed by a brief clip of the in-stadium performance.
In 2024, there was similar uproar about the network’s decision not to show violinist-slash-dancer Lindsey Stirling’s performance at the Green Bay Packers vs. Miami Dolphins game. The network also showed just a clip of Steve Aoki’s performance during the 2023 San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks game.
The Ravens halftime show marked the end of a busy day for Lil Jon. He also performed his hit ‘Turn Down for What’ on the Toys ‘R Us float at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in New York earlier on the holiday.