The Super Bowl halftime show has taken a life of its own. Many people will critique the artist or artists who get the call to perform during the biggest game of the year—furthermore, those who might not be interested in football tune in to watch the performance.
This past Sunday, hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg was one of the performers, and the New York Post is one of the media outlets that published a story showing the rapper smoking marijuana before the halftime show.
Many people in the news media world didn’t see the need for the newspaper to put together that story on Snoop Dogg since he’s never hidden his love for marijuana; also, since 2016, recreational marijuana has been legal in California.
Eric Lieberman, the Managing Editor of the Daily Caller, was one of many people not surprised by Snoop Dogg smoking marijuana before his performance. “Dog Bites Man. Snoop Dogg Smokes Weed,” Leiberman tweeted.
The Verge’s Deputy Editor, Dan Seifert, compared Snoop Dogg deciding to smoke to a fellow artist deciding to drink a beer before their performance.
“Weed is legal in California. Would this article exist if he drank a beer beforehand? Or if it was a white artist?” Seifert tweeted. “I think we know the answer.”
MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle wanted to remain The Post that recreational use of marijuana in California has been legal for nearly six years, so the story wasn’t necessary.
“Dear @nypost – recreational use of cannabis has been legal in California since 2016. Why is this a story? Every time a performer takes a shot of whiskey before they go on stage, do you make that a story?” Ruhle tweeted.
Fox News contributor Leslie Marshall also wanted to remain the newspaper that marijuana is legal in California. “Um, Smoking weed is Legal in #California!” Marshall tweeted.
Steve Irvin, an anchor/reporter at ABC15 Phoenix, decided to use sarcasm and humor with his response regarding the story on the rapper. “OMG… Snoop smokes weed?” Irvin tweeted.
Black News Channel’s Marc Lamont Hill also decided to use humor in his reaction to the Snoop Dogg story. “Wow. Snoop? Weed? If there was only some way, we could have seen this coming,” Hill tweeted.
Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.
