There were a lot of notable moments at the Super Bowl, particularly Usher’s halftime performance. One such instance that sparked a social media frenzy was Jermaine Dupri’s socks.
According to People, the 51-year-old made a statement with his black shorts suit and black loafers, exposing his above-the-ankle white socks. He pumped up the crowd before Usher performed “Confessions” and “Burn.”
His choice of clothing drew criticism and turned him into a laughing stock for a lot of online users. Finally, the rapper responded to the mocking online. He posted on Instagram on Monday, along with a photo of the famed socks and wrote, “Haaa!! ok I ain’t have time for y’all last night I was too drunk, me and my homies performed at the Super Bowl!so I’m just really seeing y’all got me fucked up !! But I will say it’s funny as hell,yoooo!! @pharrell you see this !? PS we came into this game with our clothes on backwards, i ain’t no regular nigga.”
Nonetheless, his comments were packed with fans who weren’t done trolling. One user stated, “Label matters not. Grown black men in little girl Easter socks?? BRUH” while another commented, “MY Dawg Wore Pearly Socks, HE Definitely Making It Into The Pearly Gates!!!! #Chuuuuch.”
Hours later, Dupri made a comeback to the platform, this time sharing an Instagram screenshot of his sock along with the Spotify charts. He left a message: “U wanna talk about the socks let’s talk about, I got 5 songs in the TOP 10, Let’s Talk About It !!”
Still, netizens took this update lightly, with one saying, “Sock it to them, JD! 5/10!!!!!!!” Another said, “You still a legend but them socks going down in history too.”
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Dupri expressed, “It’s really, really funny but, you know, them Louis Vuitton socks I had on — I don’t know what everybody talking about.”
All the same, he told the outlet, adding that it was “amazing” to be on stage with his colleagues, who over the years have become close friends.
“It’s amazing to be up there with your friends and to be up there with people that you basically started. When we first worked, [it was] the first time he ever had a No.1 record so to be up there was… definitely, definitely amazing,” he expressed.
Between 1997 and 2010, Dupri produced five of Usher’s incredibly popular albums.
