Introduction
NEIL DIAMOND STORMS OUT OF SUPER BOWL LX BRIEFING, SLAMS HALFTIME CHOICE
Las Vegas was barely awake when chaos erupted behind closed doors at the NFL’s Super Bowl LX planning meeting. Without warning, without a scheduled press appearance, Neil Diamond reportedly stood up, tore off his guest badge, and walked straight out of the room—leaving stunned executives and a firestorm in his wake.
Moments later, the 78-year-old music icon didn’t soften his words for reporters waiting in the hallway.
“That halftime pick?” Diamond snapped, visibly furious. “It’s the dumbest damn decision in sports history. This is the Super Bowl—not a glitter parade.” His voice trembled with anger as he continued, dismissing the idea of Taylor Swift headlining the New Orleans show as everything wrong with modern spectacle-driven entertainment.
According to sources inside the meeting, Diamond had been invited to discuss a possible national anthem performance or a legacy tribute segment. Tension reportedly exploded when producers unveiled plans for Swift’s massive 25-minute production, complete with elaborate staging, airborne platforms, and a small army of dancers.
That’s when Diamond allegedly pushed back his chair, muttered, “Y’all have lost your ever-loving minds,” and walked out—straight past NFL leadership.
By midday, social media was on fire. The hashtag #NeilSaidWhat surged nationwide as fans debated tradition versus pop spectacle. Diamond briefly addressed the uproar outside a Strip hotel, taking one call on speaker before disappearing again.
“I’ve stood in stadiums where 80,000 people sang like it was church,” he said. “Give me a mic and five minutes, and I’ll remind America what Sunday night is supposed to feel like.”
The NFL declined to comment. Representatives for Swift described the situation as “a difference in musical taste.”
Diamond’s final remark before leaving the scene echoed long after he vanished down the corridor:
“American music existed before the halftime circus—and it’ll still be standing when the lights go out.”
With that, the line was drawn—deep in the Louisiana mud.