Kendrick Lamar‘s halftime show at Super Bowl LIX featured some of his biggest hits, including the Drake diss track Not Like Us, but it left numerous viewers expressing their disappointment on social media.

And in addition the 37-year-old performing, a surprising figure emerged Sunday night on social media as a source of blame: Jay-Z.

That’s because the 55-year-old rap icon has been in charge of picking the Super Bowl halftime performers every year since his record label and talent agency Roc Nation entered into a partnership in 2019.

That agreement designated Jay-Z — who was seen on the field before the game with his daughters Blue Ivy and Rumi — as the ‘live music entertainment strategist’ for the Super Bowl, and in a September interview with Variety, halftime show producer Jesse Collins confirmed that the final decision on who will perform lies with the 99 Problems rapper.

Although most fans focused on Lamar’s performance while venting on social media, plenty were infuriated over Jay-Z and Roc Nation’s role in setting the show up in the first place.

‘Time for the NFL to fire Roc Nation/Jay Z. Make the halftime show great again!’ wrote one viewer.

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Jay-Z, 55, emerged as a surprise villain for Super Bowl LIX fans disappointed by Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show on Sunday

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Most fans focused on Lamar’s performance, but several noted that Jay-Z was responsible for picking the rapper to perform

One angry tweet, which was addressed as a letter to RocNation, read, ‘NO MORE RAPPERS AT THE SUPER BOWL!!

‘It’s been 6 years since jay-z has taken control of picking artists and we are tired of the atlanta conventions,’ they continued. ‘the super bowl is supposed to be a SPECTACLE and nobody does spectacles like POP STARS! FIX UP NEXT YEAR!’

The complaints targeting Jay-Z seemed to be split between seemingly non-political accounts who clearly preferred rock, pop or country artists to hip hop and R&B and accounts that heavily posted about conservative politics.

However, there were even a few rap fans mixed in with the critics, including one user who suggest firing Jay-Z because he passed over Lil Wayne for the halftime show.

Back in September, Wayne admitted that it ‘broke him’ to be passed over for the show.

However, it’s unclear if the New Orleans–born rapper — whose critical and commercials peaks are now years behind him — was ever a serious candidate for the performance.

‘It’s time to fire Jay-Z #nfl lil Wayne should’ve been performing at the halftime show I’ll give Kendricks performance a -100,’ wrote one Lil Wayne defender.

Another angry fan complained that this was the ‘2nd time that [Jay-Z] missed the mark,’ though they didn’t clarify whom they considered his first poorly chosen performer to be.

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Several viewers also laid the blame on Jay-Z’s label and management company Roc Nation, which signed an agreement with the NFL in 2019 to pick the halftime performers

‘It’s time to fire Jay-Z #nfl lil Wayne should’ve been performing at the halftime show I’ll give Kendricks performance a -100,’ wrote one Lil Wayne defender

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Jay-Z was seen on the field before the game with his daughters Blue Ivy (L) and Rumi (center)

Another angry fan complained that this was the ‘2nd time that [Jay-Z] missed the mark,’ though they didn’t clarify whom they considered his first poorly chosen performer to be

Some complaints described the Jay-Z selected halftime performances as ‘ghetto,’ which others considered dog whistle terms referencing the race of many recent performers

‘Everyone says it sucked. Who’d guess letting Jay-Z run the half time show would be a disaster?’ seethed one viewer who was clearly not a Jay-Z fan to begin with

Some complaints described the halftime performances selected by Jay-Z as ‘ghetto,’ which others considered dog whistle terms referencing the race of many recent performers.

‘Everyone says it sucked. Who’d guess letting Jay-Z run the half time show would be a disaster?’ seethed one viewer who was clearly not a Jay-Z fan to begin with.

Some fans suggested that Jay’s wife Beyoncé could have been a solid performer, with one user singling out her recent turn toward country music on her Cowboy Carter album.

They suggested some other ‘country/not-so-country artists,’ including Morgan Wallen, Post Malone and Miranda Lambert.

‘But, no, he can’t include other genres. I guess,’ they added.

Although country music is hugely popular and has seen a rise in popularity in recent years, hip hop and R&B — the genres Jay-Z has most favored with his selections — continue to be the most popular genres globally.

Another viewer claimed that Jay-Z ‘doesn’t recognize’ the names of country and country-adjacent stars, including Morgan Wallen, Jelly Roll and Post Malone.

Earlier in the night, Pulitzer Prize winner Kendrick Lamar showcased his lyrical prowess as he started out the performance on top of a car before taking a swipe at his hip hop rival Drake, 38.

Some fans suggested that Jay’s wife Beyoncé could have been a solid performer, with one user singling out her recent turn toward country music on her Cowboy Carter album

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Another viewer claimed that Jay-Z ‘doesn’t recognize’ the names of country and country-adjacent stars, including Morgan Wallen, Jelly Roll and Post Malone

Despite Drake recently suing his and Lamar’s record label, Universal Music Group, over the controversial diss song, Not Like Us, which calls Drake a ‘certified pedophile’, Kendrick still performed the song, however, he omitted the word.

He did go on to deliver two other controversial lines, including ‘Say Drake, I hear you like them young’ and ‘trying to strike a chord and it’s probably a minor,’ as the crowd sang along.

The rapper had a surprise introduction from actor Samuel L. Jackson, 76, who was dressed up as ‘Uncle Sam’, and performed a medley of his hits, before he was joined by R&B singer SZA, 35.

Kendrick also wore a big silver chain pendant with a small letter ‘a’, in another reference to ‘A minor’ in the lyrics.

The scathing diss track about Drake won Lamar a Grammy for Record of the Year and Song of the Year last weekend.

Released last May, the viral song saw Kendrick sensationally accuse Drake of being a ‘certified pedophile’ and pursuing minors. Drake denied the allegations in his rebuttal track The Heart Part 6, saying his was ‘not a name you gon’ see on no sex offender list’.

Tennis champion Serena Williams, who was once linked to Drake, was pictured dancing during Kendrick’s performance of Not Like Us.

At one point during the charged performance a man with a Palestinian  flag tried to storm the halftime show but was intercepted by security.