Super Bowl LIV: Jennifer Lopez and Shakira slammed for not paying tribute to Kobe Bryant as promised earlier
Jennifer Lopez and Shakira did not pay any tribute to late basketball legend Kobe Bryant during their Super Bowl LIV halftime performance on Sunday, February 2, leaving some fans fuming.
The two stars took to the stage to give out the performance of a lifetime and get fans grooving. However, their energy-filled show did not feature the tribute they had planned for the NBA legend, who died in a helicopter crash along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others.
While speaking at a Super Bowl press conference on Thursday, January 30, Shakira shared, "We’ll all be remembering Kobe on Sunday and celebrating life and diversity in this country."
"I’m sure he’d be very proud to see the message we are trying to convey on stage that day," she had added. Post their Super Bowl performance, social media users took to Twitter to point out that Jennifer nor Shakira paid any tribute to Bryant.
One user wrote, "Guess seeing @JLo on a pole is more important than a Kobe tribute. You suck #PepsiHalftime #KobeForever," while another added, "So Jennifer Lopez and Shakira used that they were doing a tribute to Kobe Bryant as an excuse to get their views up during the halftime show not only [but then] proceeded to do NO Kobe Bryant tribute like they said they would…but are we surprised?"
A third shared, "Stop lying...where is my Kobe tribute?" Players and fans at the Super Bowl honored Bryant and the eight others who lost their lives in the crash with a moment of silence before the game began.
The teams lined up at the 24-yard line in tribute to Bryant who had worn a No. 24 jersey for a major part of his career. Before the Super Bowl, Jennifer Lopez and her fiancé Alex Rodriguez had honored the LA Lakers star on social media.