{"id":218842,"date":"2026-09-18T12:49:57","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T19:49:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shockya.com\/news\/?p=218842"},"modified":"2026-09-18T13:01:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T20:01:49","slug":"jay-z-cant-find-a-super-bowl-headliner-report-says-his-own-record-may-be-part-of-the-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shockya.com\/news\/2026\/09\/18\/jay-z-cant-find-a-super-bowl-headliner-report-says-his-own-record-may-be-part-of-the-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"Jay-Z Can’t Find a Super Bowl Headliner, Report Says. His Own Record May Be Part of the Problem."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Jay-Z\"<\/a>
AI generated image.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

NEW YORK<\/strong> \u2014 Five months before Super Bowl LXI<\/strong>, the company the NFL <\/strong>pays to book its halftime show has no headliner, and the man who runs it may have to fill the slot himself, according to a Daily Mail report<\/a> published Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The paper cited an unnamed source close to Jay-Z<\/strong> and the league who said “nobody wants the burden to do the show.” <\/strong>The slot pays no fee, and Kendrick Lamar<\/strong> and Bad Bunny<\/strong> both drew heavy criticism for taking it. The source said a multi-artist show is very likely and that Jay-Z,<\/strong> now touring for the 30th anniversary of “Reasonable Doubt,” is floating his own name to show others it is safe.<\/strong> An announcement planned for this month could slip to November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The immediate trigger, the Mail reported, was this week’s Ed Sheeran <\/strong>tour blowup. After Macklemore <\/strong>used his opening set to voice support for Palestinians, Patriots owner Robert Kraft<\/strong> and other NFL owners <\/strong>told Sheeran <\/strong>to drop him or lose his stadium dates. Sheeran <\/strong>complied, then lost his band and support acts. Artists now fear that kind of backlash and the displeasure of President Donald Trump<\/strong>, the source said. The Mail said it sought comment from Roc Nation<\/strong> and the NFL, and none of it is confirmed<\/a>. The game is Feb. 14 at SoFi Stadium<\/strong> in Inglewood, California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report treats the problem as political. It leaves out a simpler one. Roc Nation, which has picked the halftime act since 2019, comes to the table carrying more legal baggage than ever.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Loss in Court Last Week<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On Sept. 9, California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal<\/strong> unanimously upheld<\/a> the dismissal of Jay-Z’s extortion and defamation suit <\/strong>against Houston attorney Tony Buzbee<\/strong>. Buzbee represented a woman who alleged in 2024 that Shawn Carter and Sean “Diddy” Combs raped her at an MTV Video Music Awards after-party in 2000, when she was 13.<\/strong> Carter called the claim a blackmail attempt and denied it. The woman dropped her case with prejudice in February 2025, after a suspicious series of events. Now Carter’s attorneys<\/strong> are claiming that the victims attorney told her that Carter would have her killed<\/strong> if she did not drop the lawsuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carter <\/strong>then went after her lawyer, with Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel<\/strong> leading the charge. A Los Angeles judge threw the suit out under California’s anti-SLAPP law<\/strong> in June 2025<\/strong>, and the appeals court agreed that Buzbee’s demand letters were protected. <\/strong>The panel said its ruling does not decide whether the accusation was true. A winning anti-SLAPP defendant is entitled to attorney’s fees. We covered the ruling<\/a>, and the original dismissal<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Roc Nation as Defendant<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The company’s docket is crowded.<\/strong> All of the following are allegations unless noted, and Roc Nation<\/strong> disputes them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n