Responding to the backlash, the 'No More Drama' hitmaker says that she doesn't 'pay attention to all of that' as it's only 'a small conversation compared to how huge' the moment was.
- Feb 17, 2022
AceShowbiz - Mary J. Blige has shared her thoughts on the backlash over Pepsi Super Bowl LVI halftime show. In a new interview, the "Family Affair" hitmaker insisted that she's unfazed by the criticism as she "really [doesn't] care."
The Grammy-winning singer discussed the matter during the Wednesday, February 16 interview with Hot 97's Ebro Darden. "There's definitely an energy around people feeling as if the performance at halftime was somehow, uh, it was too raunchy, or it was too real," host Ebro told the 51-year-old musician, before asking, "Or, 'How did these gangster rappers get on stage?' Have you seen that conversation at all?"
"No, I haven't," Mary responded. She explained, "That's a small conversation compared to how huge that is. Like, hip-hop is here. It's more than just a small thing. It's just as big as rock 'n' roll right now."
Mary further stressed that she doesn't "pay attention to all of that." The "No More Drama" songstress went on saying, "I'm just paying attention to how we got raised up. Someone looked at us -- well, somebody looked at [Dr. Dre] and said, 'We need you.' And Dre looked at me and said, 'I want you.' And so on and so forth with all his friends. So, I really don't care about [the backlash]."
Elsewhere in the conversation, Mary admitted that the gig was one of the best moments of her life. The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul also shared that she "was nervous until [she] got on the stage." She told host Ebro, "I was nervous in all the rehearsals -- everybody was nervous. Everyone. But that was a huge moment."
On Sunday, Mary took the stage at Inglewood's SoFi stadium alongside Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg and Eminem with 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak making surprise appearances. At the time, Mary, who wore white crystal bodysuit and thigh-high boots, wowed the audience with her hit songs "Family Affair" and "No More Drama".
Also facing heavy criticism following the spectacular show was 50 Cent. The "In Da House" rapper was fat-shamed for being "too fat" to hang upside down while rapping his verses. While the 46-year-old hip-hop star didn't explicitly address the fat-shaming, he shared a meme of D12 rapper Bizarre hanging upside down in the 2004 "My Band" video with a caption that read, "Who the f**k did this?"
