50 Cent claims Jay-Z tried to exclude him from 2022 Super Bowl halftime show — and takes dig at Beyonce
50 Cent almost got cut from the epic 2022 Super Bowl halftime show.
The rapper, 49, claimed that Jay-Z’s entertainment company, Roc Nation, tried to keep him out of the star-studded hip-hip mashup that also included Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre and Mary J. Blige.
“They wanted to leave me out of it. They didn’t want me there,” 50 Cent told the Hollywood Reporter in an interview published Wednesday.
Jay-Z, 54, founded Roc Nation in 2008. The company has helped the NFL produce the Super Bowl halftime show since 2020, when Jennifer Lopez and Shakira took the stage.
When asked who “they” is that he referred to in the interview, 50 Cent clarified that he was talking about Roc Nation.
“Yeah, they didn’t want me there,” he said, noting that he ended up in the performance thanks to Eminem, 51.
“Eminem wouldn’t do it without me. That’s how I ended up on the show because he was not coming if I didn’t do it,” 50 Cent explained. “When that happens, you go, ‘Damn, so you just lost Eminem because you didn’t bring 50? Damn. All right. Bring 50 then.’”
“But if it was up to them, they would not have me there,” he added. “I’m the surprise. I’m not on the bill at all. But they couldn’t get Em to do it without me.”
The rapper also took a dig at Beyoncé in the interview — and her 32 Grammys.
“I don’t know who’s voting in that s–t. It’s crazy,” he said. “Whoever they are, they’re off at Beyoncé’s house because she has 30 of them.”
The Post has reached out to a rep for Roc Nation for comment.
50 Cent and Anderson .Paak were brought out as surprise performers at the Super Bowl LVI halftime show at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
The Grammy Award winner infamously hung upside down while singing his hit “In Da Club” during the 15-minute performance.
But in May 2023, 50 Cent called his unconventional entrance at the Super Bowl halftime show a “mistake.”
“Everybody else walked in regular, the songs still went over and they got the trophy, too,” he told USA Today. “They all won an Emmy. They got the same thing I got and I had to put myself upside down.”
50 Cent has a long history with Eminem, having been signed to the “Without Me” rapper’s label Shady Records in 2002. Eminem also helped 50 Cent release his debut album, 2003’s “Get Rich or Die Tryin.”
It’s been revealed that 50 Cent is producing a TV series based on Eminem’s 2002 drama film “8 Mile.”
“50 is like a brother to me,” Eminem said in the THR interview.
He added: “50 has proven again and again that there’s really nothing he can’t do, and nobody gets in the way of him getting it done.”
“8 Mile” is loosely based on Eminem’s life in Detroit and his goal to become a famous rapper. The movie stars Eminem in his film debut opposite Kim Basinger, Anthony Mackie, Taryn Manning and the late Brittany Murphy.
The film grossed over $242 million worldwide and won Eminem the Academy Award for Best Original Song for his hit “Lose Yourself.”
