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Jennifer Lopez on the Super Bowl Halftime Show: ‘It Was the Worst Idea in the World’

Also in Traina Thoughts: Draymond Green is gonna podcast no matter what; Guillermo does NBA media day; Angels turn to Nickelback and more.

Jimmy Traina

1. The response to the 2020 Super Bowl halftime show featuring Jennifer Lopez and Shakira was overwhelmingly positive minus the people who were offended by ass shaking.

However, one person who was not exactly thrilled about the halftime show before it took place was J.Lo.

In an upcoming Netflix documentary, Halftime, (out June 14) about her career, the Super Bowl LIV halftime show is covered extensively and reveals that Lopez had several issues with the NFL over the show.

For starters, Lopez was frustrated that she couldn’t have the gig all to herself.

"This is the worst idea in the world to have two people do the Super Bowl,” Lopez told her music director. “It was the worst idea in the world."

A big part of Lopez’s frustrations were the time constrictions that came with having to do the show with another performer.

“We have six f------ minutes. We have 30 seconds of a song, and if we take a minute, that’s it, we’ve got five left,” complained Lopez. “But, there’s got to be certain songs that we sing, though. We have to have our singing moments. It’s not going to be a dance f------ revue. We have to sing our message.”

Lopez’s manager, Benny Medina, also expressed his disappointment in the documentary with his client having to share the spotlight with another performer.

“Typically you have one headliner at a Super Bowl,” said Medina. “That headliner constructs a show, and, should they choose to have other guests, that’s their choice. It was an insult to say you needed two Latinas to do the job that one artist historically has done.”

“If it was going to be a double headliner, they should have given us 20 minutes,” Lopez said in the documentary. “That’s what they should’ve f------ done.”

The singer/actress/dancer also fought with the NFL over a portion of the halftime show that featured kids in cages. Once the NFL got wind of that the night before the Super Bowl, they asked Lopez to remove the cages.

“We left rehearsal and I noticed everybody was freaking out, but I don’t know why,” Lopez says. “I get a call from Benny, and he’s like, ‘They want to pull the cages.’ That night, the higher-ups at the NFL saw it for the first time, and they’re like, ‘Hey, you can’t do that.”

In a rare loss for the NFL, Lopez refused to pull the cages and did her show the way she wanted—except for doing it solo.

2. A brand new SI Media Podcast dropped today and it features an interview with Bryan Curtis of The Ringer. Topics discussed include:

- Drew Brees done at NBC Sports

- Pat McAfee's NFL broadcasting future

- ABC/ESPN's NBA Finals studio show

- Is LeBron getting a podcast?

Following the conversation with Curtis, Sal Licata from WFAN/SNY in New York joins me our weekly "Traina Thoughts" segment. This week, we do a deep dive into Kevin Durant responding to Sal on Twitter and saying that sports talk radio "makes him nauseous."

You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Google.

3. Draymond Green, after a brutal game against the Celtics last night, made it clear that he’s going to podcast after games no matter what. I know fans want and think that after a game, players go back to their hotel rooms, get in their pajamas, drink a glass of milk and watch some Netflix before getting some sleep. Newsflash: They don’t. Some players play video games all night, some players go to a restaurant, some players enjoy a gentleman’s club, etc., etc.

So stop getting worked up about Green doing a podcast after a game. It’s not a big deal.

4. Jimmy Kimmel Live‘s Guillermo did his annual bit by going to media day at the NBA Finals, and it was as good as ever.

5. Pat McAfee took a call from an 8-year-old on his show Wednesday, and no one could’ve predicted how the conversation would end.

6. After 13 losses in a row, every Angels batter used a Nickelback song as his walkup music last night in hopes of changing the mojo.

The Angels lost to the Red Sox, 1–0 and the losing streak stands at 14.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Happy 61st birthday to Michael J. Fox.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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