The Weeknd Report: Super Bowl’s Epic Fumble

The Kansas City Chiefs weren’t the only ones to fumble their Super Bowl LV performance. I’m calling a flag on the play over the decision makers who picked Abel Tesfaye A.K.A. “The Weeknd” as the halftime entertainer for the largest TV audience of the year.

After more than 1,300 complaints were filed from 48 states with the FCC after 2020’s salacious belly dancing, booty shaking, crotch thrusting-fest with Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, you’d think the NFL would look for a more family-friendly option in 2021.

Nope. Not even close.

Granted, The Weeknd didn’t sport black leather dominatrix getups, or prance around stage cavorting with a stripper pole as did J.Lo. That’s a plus. But his lyrical content is far more perverted, morally bankrupt, and sexually graphic than J.Lo’s inappropriate display. Think I’m exaggerating?

Take your pick of The Weeknd’s lyrical exhibition of genital gymnastics. Consider “Often,” “Love in the Sky,” or “Gone.” Google the lyrics and get back to me. Then there’s “Or Nah” which I guess is The Weeknd’s idea of a love song. He sings:

Can you lick the tip then throat the dick or nah? Can you let me stretch that p—y out or nah? . . . P—y so good, I had to save that sh-t for later, Took her to the kitchen, f—ked her right there on the table . . . I’m tryna keep that p—y wet, I’m tryna f—k her and her friends.”

Frank Sinatra he’s not. Imagine the conversation at the NFL headquarters when this sexual pervert and predator was recommended to take center stage in the living rooms of more than 100 million households on Super Bowl Sunday.

NFL COMMISSIONER: Who we got for halftime?

STAFF: Definitely go with The Weeknd

NFL COMMISSIONER: Who? Never heard of that.

STAFF: Um, sir, The Weeknd is a he . . . he’s from Toronto Canada, and he’s B-I-G. His “In Your Eyes” video has almost 90 million views. He’s got 2.5 billion streams and has 8 Top 20 hits on the GLOBAL Top 200 list with 4 global No.1s. And The Weeknd’s won 3 Grammys.

NFL COMMISSIONER: I’m liking that. Gotta love the international aspect of a Canadian artist. Any downside?

STAFF: Well, let’s just say his lyrics can be a bit . . . risqué . . . but most parents don’t won’t know the first thing about him—and he’s promised to keep his clothes on so we don’t anticipate any “wardrobe malfunctions” or “Nipplegate” issues.

Indeed. The Weeknd kept his clothes on, so what’s the big deal? Consider this.

The price of a 30-second Super Bowl LV commercial was $5,600,000. The Weeknd performed for about 13 minutes which means the international exposure to promote his brand—comprised of smutty lyrics and violent videos—was valued at roughly $145,600,000, along with the implicit NFL Seal of Approval.

Aren’t there more worthy artists to pick for the coveted halftime slot? Why does the NFL insist on picking morally bankrupt performers? What might that say about them? And, why do American families allow such depravity to take center stage in their homes?

The person of faith has a higher bar to set regarding their entertainment choices. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4a says, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;  that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust.”

Does The Weeknd pass that test? Not even close. The NFL has fumbled their entertainment pick. But your family still has a choice whose voice they’ll to listen to this week.

Cardi B and the Year the World Got Sick

When I say the world got sick, I’m not referring to the corona virus. I’m talking about the complete and utter moral failure and lack of discernment by youth around the globe enabling Cardi B, a morally bankrupt hip-hopper, to be named “Woman of the Year” by Billboard magazine.

Does that sound like an exaggeration?

Take a moment to look up the lyrics to “WAP”—brace yourself, they’re explicit. Go ahead. Do it. Then explain how this pornographic song hit the No.1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart—for four weeks—if it didn’t have a massive listening audience. In fact, “WAP” also became the first No.1 song on the Billboard Global 200 chart. You might want to read that again.

National Public Radio (NPR) lost all credibility with me when they listed “WAP” as their No.1 Song of the Year for 2020—a song they described as “raunchy fun.” NPR isn’t alone in their drooling over the latest hip hop smut-fest. With 93 million first week streams by jaded listeners, last year “WAP” set the world record for the “most streams for a song in a single week.”

As of this writing, there have been more than 205 million views of the video and just shy of 1 billion global streams of “WAP.” That’s sick.

Billboard’s December cover story gushed that 28-year-old Cardi B’s “unapologetic voice resonated far and wide in 2020 when the world needed it most.” Seriously? The world needed yet another XXX-rated hip hop song pumped into the kids AirPods at a time when parents have lost their jobs and, in turn, their homes?

How does a salacious sex-romp benefit family businesses which have been forced to close their doors forever?

How are lewd lyrics helping children, who have been deprived of friendships and peer interaction, cope with isolation, depression, and thoughts of suicide?

I’m still struggling to understand how Cardi’s “unapologetic voice” is what the world “needed most.”

For her part, Cardi acts surprised by those who would take issue with her vulgar lyrics. After all, she grew up listening to hardcore female rappers. She told Billboard, “I’m so used to listening to raunchy female rap music since I was a little girl” that “WAP” “to me was just a regular raunchy female rap song.” She adds, “I represent America.” I sure hope not.

For better or worse, America—and the world—are listening.

What are the implications for this generation of young listeners who stream her music? Who is helping teens process Cardi B’s fixation on genital pleasure and her “filthy bit of joy” (NPR) in light of God’s gift of sex and human sexuality? Who is raising a biblical standard of purity in a culture which has largely traded love for lust and where courting has been replaced by copulating?

Focus on the Family remains an excellent resource for moms and dads as they navigate their parenting journey in these turbulent times. Click here to learn more.

A final thought. The darker the night, the more we need light. When it comes to entertainment choices in our homes, Philippians 4:8 provides a spotlight to live by: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (NIV).

That’s what the world needs most.