February 04, 2019

A lot of people hated that Maroon 5 Super Bowl LIII halftime show

Here are some of the Internet's best roasts, plus a look back at some other unloved halftime shows

By Marielle Mondon
PhillyVoice Staff

Last night the New England Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams in the lowest scoring Super Bowl game of all time, yet the game's halftime show starring Maroon 5 may have broken a similarly low record.

The set was spearheaded by Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, who went through three coats and ended the show without a shirt on, and featured "surprise" appearances from Travis Scott and Big Boi, as well a full gospel choir and an homage to late "SpongeBob SquarePants" creator Stephen Hillenburg.

With the score going into halftime just 3-0, there had been hope the show would be an entertaining reprieve from a fairly boring game – but the consensus among many is that ... it was not. Here are some of the best hot takes, and just funniest Tweets, from the show.

Adam Levine makes me mad because he exemplifies the victory of shallow basic blandness over complicated, interested talent and he thinks his abs mitigate that, but in fact his abs PROVE THE POINT of why he is so basic and unbearable
— Heidi N. Moore (@moorehn) February 4, 2019

Adam Levine looks like if Target designed a rock star.
— Claire Suddath (@clairesuddath) February 4, 2019

Millennials and Baby Boomers agree: pic.twitter.com/d39eTJxxVj
— Claire Suddath (@clairesuddath) February 4, 2019

Maroon 5 is what would happen if your Sims escaped your computer and started a band
— Bridger Winegar (@bridger_w) February 4, 2019

Maroon 5 please put your shirt back on.
— joe beddia (@pizzacamp) February 4, 2019

Just like Maroon 5 pic.twitter.com/R1V1ICVK84
— Funniest Tweets! (@ComedyIsAJoke) February 4, 2019

The NFL Halftime Performance of Maroon 5 got so many dislikes, they removed the video. It had over 100,000 Dislikes.

Just saying, ya messed with the wrong group guys. You really did. pic.twitter.com/YvGqNkqMAg
— TRAFON (@RiseFallNick) February 4, 2019

is Maroon 5 the new Nickelback?
— Will Gordon (@William_WGordon) February 4, 2019

Others saw Levine on the screen and may have seen a familiar comfort.

@TearsaSmith @justinkieferwx
Good morning!
It looks like everyone has a piece of Adam Levine from Maroon 5!🤣 pic.twitter.com/MtoU3dTpWa
— Julie Romanszky (@julie_romanszky) February 4, 2019

wow the highlight of Adam Levine's performance was definitely that his shirt looked exactly like pillows that an alarming amount of people happen to have from Target #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/UL8WjdpJaY
— Jenna Amatulli (@ohheyjenna) February 4, 2019

Why exactly was the show so bad to so many people? Several other performers, including Cardi B and Rihanna, also had been approached to star in the unpaid gig, but were turned off from accepting it because of the NFL's treatment of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Kaepernick remains unsigned by any NFL team after kneeling in protest during the national anthem, which he first did in fall 2016. He has explained he kneeled during the anthem to raise awareness about police brutality and racism against African-Americans in the U.S. Some of Kaepernick's supporters posted reminders of that reality during the halftime show.

Hi there while you’re enjoying this mediocre Maroon 5 halftime please remember a football legend was blacklisted from this entire sport for merely putting his knee on the ground in protest of black people being murdered. Enjoy your pop music!
— Amber Tamblyn (@ambertamblyn) February 4, 2019

Maroon 5, Kaepernick 7
— RainnWilson (@rainnwilson) February 4, 2019

“I got to sacrifice a lot of money to perform,” Cardi B told the Associated Press a few days before the Super Bowl.

“But there’s a man who sacrificed his job for us, so we got to stand behind him.”

So is the Maroon 5 performance the worst Super Bowl halftime show ever? It may rank up there. Here's a look at some other acts notoriously ill received, including Gloria Estefan's 1992 performance that was basically a long Olympics-themed spectacle that couldn't even be saved with covers of Queen songs.