Lil Yachty responds to backlash from WWE fans over heavy celebrity involvement for WrestleMania 42

The Grammy-nominated rapper made an appearance alongside Trick Williams on SmackDown.

Accepting an invitation from Trick Williams, Grammy-nominated rapper Lil Yachty made an appearance alongside Williams on the April 3 edition of SmackDown.

The April 3, 2026, edition of WWE SmackDown emanated from the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Yachty made two major appearances alongside Williams on the show. In his first appearance last Friday, Lil Yachty was involved in the segment that resulted in Sami Zayn granting Carmelo Hayes a rematch for the U.S. Title.

He also participated in the main event, where Sami retained his championship. After the match, the Grammy-nominated rapper stepped into the ring to hype Williams, playfully calling Zayn a “gingerbread man.” This prompted Sami to charge at him, only for Williams to take Sami down with the Trick Shot.

However, the involvement has not gone down well with WWE fans, who have been very vocal on the heavy celebrity involvement ahead of WrestleMania 42, while deserving superstars have been left off the card.

Lil Yachty responds to fan criticism

Notably, another celebrity in Jelly Roll has been heavily featured for the last two weeks in the lead-up to Mania, even partaking in a singles match against Kit Wilson.

Another celeb, Pat McAfee, also made his return to WWE programming, revealing himself to be Randy Orton’s mystery caller and attacking Cody Rhodes.

On the other hand, Monday Night Raw has had their fare share of celebrity involvement with IShowSpeed’s involvement in the Vision and The Usos storyline, also including LA Knight. Rumors of the involvement of NFL legend Tom Brady have also been rife since his online feud with Logan Paul.

Frequent celebrity involvement has been a major change since the TKO takeover. However, fans have been vocal about this involvement just to create viral moments, while deserving stars don’t get the spotlight, and storylines suffer.

Voicing their opinion, a fan shared an altered WrestleMania poster where WWE stars like Brock Lesnar, CM Punk, Roman Reigns, and Paul Heyman were replaced by the aforementioned celebrities, signalling the ridiculous level of celebrity involvement.

Responding to the post on X (Twitter), Lil Yachty defended his involvement, saying he’s a dedicated WWE fan who knows the history and has attended many events, and questioned why he shouldn’t be part of something he loves.

“i understand yall upset but don’t try and step on my fucking moment, i’m at the tv screen every monday and friday religiously. i’ve been to more ple’s than most. i probably know more history than most of yall. who’s to say i don’t deserve to be apart of something i love so dearly?”

Although Yachty has attended multiple WWE shows, fans are likely frustrated with the weak build toward WrestleMania and WWE’s focus on celebrity-driven viral moments over actual storylines.

The frustration and poor build have been reflected in the ticket sales and hype for the 42nd edition of Mania. The 42nd edition of WrestleMania will take place as a two-night event on April 18 and 19 at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada.

Also Read: Why WWE is using shock value instead of long-term storytelling to book WrestleMania 42?

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