Blackburn on AI Kendrick Lamar clip backlash: It wasn’t ‘intended to offend’

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) is defending herself after coming under fire for sharing a video , which seemed to be AI-generated, in which she appeared in the place of rapper Kendrick Lamar during his 2025 Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show performance.

In a clip Fox 13 Memphis’ Rob Sneed posted to Instagram Friday, the reporter asked Blackburn about the viral moment, to which the lawmaker responded saying someone else had made the original video, and her campaign team shared it because she thought it was “fun.”

“It was a video that a county commissioner had created, and I thought it was just something that was fun,” Blackburn said.

Blackburn faced criticism online for sharing the likely AI-generated video, showing her dancing to Lamar’s popular song, “Not Like Us” — which he performed during the Super Bowl. Other Tennessee politicians appear as her background dancers, including Rep. Tim Burchett (R) and Sen. Bill Haggerty (R).

As of Saturday afternoon, the video has over 2.2 million views on social platform X.

Commenters generally responded negatively to the video, including former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), who said, “Boomer thinks AI makes her look cool.” Other users simply called the video “cringe.”

The Tennessee senator has advocated against AI deepfake videos in the past, and she introduced a bill to protect the likeness of creators from being used without their consent.

Sneed also pressed Blackburn on another concern surrounding the video: that it could have offended Black Americans. The song, which famously includes disses against fellow rapper Drake, is often interpreted as a commentary on the appropriation of Black artists’ work.

“There would never be any action that was intended to offend,” Blackburn responded.

Blackburn is running for Tennessee governor against Democrat Jerri Green. Green responded to her opponent’s video on X.

“When I say please stop using AI to support our campaign, this is what I mean…,” Green wrote.

Nonpartisan election forecaster Decision Desk HQ, a partner of The Hill, gives Blackburn a 94 percent chance to win Tennessee gubernatorial race. The state has not elected a Democrat to serve as its governor since 2006.