Australia’s 2025 AFL Grand Final, set for September 27 at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, is shaping up to be more than just a championship football match. In a move that has ignited a national debate, the Australian Football League (AFL) announced that American hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg would headline the pre-game entertainment, earning a reported $2 million for his appearance. The decision has drawn sharp criticism from politicians, artists, and fans alike, sparking fresh questions about cultural representation, support for homegrown talent, and the values projected by one of the country’s biggest sporting events.
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young was among the first and most vocal critics. Speaking in the Australian Senate on August 26, 2025, she lambasted the AFL’s choice, declaring, “The AFL has decided, rather than putting on an Australian artist, they’re gonna pay $2 million to play at the Grand Final.” According to Billboard, Hanson-Young went further, branding Snoop Dogg a “slur merchant” and questioning why the league would invest so heavily in an international act instead of elevating Australia’s own world-class musicians.
For many, the debate isn’t just about one performer. It’s about what the AFL Grand Final represents—a cultural touchstone watched by over six million Australians, as noted by The Guardian. Since COVID-era travel restrictions, no Australian artist has led the Grand Final entertainment. The league’s reliance on global stars—following acts like Ed Sheeran, Sting, and The Killers—has left some wondering if the event has lost touch with its roots.
Senator Hanson-Young’s criticisms come at a time when the Australian music industry is facing unprecedented challenges. As she pointed out in her address and subsequent opinion piece, musicians are often forced to work multiple jobs just to make ends meet. Iconic festivals that once nurtured rising stars are being cancelled, and the threat of artificial intelligence looms over artists’ creative output. The gender gap on festival lineups and in music charts is widening, and live music venues, especially in music hubs like Adelaide, are closing their doors.
“Huge Australian cultural moments should be paired with true Aussie talent,” Hanson-Young argued. She called for concrete support, including a Live Performance Tax Offset to help venues and artists survive. The numbers support her concern: a Creative Australia report in 2024 found that only 8% of the top 10,000 artists streamed in Australia were Australian, despite 80% of Spotify royalties for Australian artists coming from overseas. And yet, the appetite for local music remains strong—Creative Australia’s ‘Listening In’ report from April 2025 revealed that 66% of live music audiences want to hear more Australian music.
Government responses have been mixed but not absent. The New South Wales Government recently introduced “Michael’s Rule,” an initiative that incentivizes international acts to add local Australian musicians as support by reducing hiring fees at major venues. It’s the first such scheme in the country, and advocates hope it will be adopted nationwide to give homegrown artists more opportunities to shine.
The controversy around Snoop Dogg’s booking, however, runs deeper than questions of cultural sovereignty. The rapper’s past lyrics and public comments have been criticized for homophobia, misogyny, and drug references. Hanson-Young highlighted the irony of the AFL’s decision in light of recent events: Adelaide Crows forward Izak Rankine was suspended for four weeks for making a homophobic slur on the pitch, while Snoop Dogg—whose lyrics have also been described as homophobic and misogynistic—was handed a lucrative contract to perform on the same stage.
“The irony is not lost on many of us that while Izak Rankine gets dumped, Snoop Dogg gets $2 million to play his misogynistic, homophobic music on our turf,” Hanson-Young said in her Senate speech, as reported by Billboard. The AFL’s leadership, however, has stood by its decision. CEO Andrew Dillon defended the booking, emphasizing that the league had engaged Snoop Dogg “as the person he is today.” Dillon pointed out that Snoop Dogg is now a grandfather, philanthropist, and global entertainer who has performed at major events like the Super Bowl and the Olympic Closing Ceremony. “He has spoken publicly about his past, he has changed, and today he is a grandfather, philanthropist, he helps rehabilitate youth and is a global entertainer,” Dillon stated.
Snoop Dogg’s relationship with Australia isn’t new. In 2021, he signed an exclusive five-year touring deal with TEG MJR, part of Australian live entertainment giant TEG. Still, his history of controversy—ranging from a 2006 brawl at London’s Heathrow Airport (which led to a four-year UK ban) to his removal from a Dutch festival lineup in 2010 and his involvement in a 2001 adult video—has kept him in global headlines for decades.
The Australian public, meanwhile, is anything but united. As Daily Mail Australia reported, fans have taken to social media to air their opinions. Some accuse the AFL of abandoning its platform of respecting women by hiring Snoop Dogg, especially in light of his recent controversial comments about same-sex relationships. Others see the uproar as overblown, with one fan writing, “Couldn’t care less if Snoop Dog appears or not, the AFL weren’t exactly trying to cater for ‘all’ their fans were they?”
Radio host Kyle Sandilands, speaking on The Kyle & Jackie O Show, dismissed the controversy. “Yeah, Snoop's written about pimping out women like w***es his whole life. Taking drugs, gangbangs... you knew who you were hiring,” he remarked, suggesting that the AFL should have anticipated the backlash. Sandilands also referenced AFL great Brendan Fevola’s claim that Snoop might be axed from the show, calling such a move “the biggest loser thing that can happen.”
For many, the issue is not just about one artist or one performance. It’s about what—and who—the AFL Grand Final stands for. Is it a platform to showcase the best of Australian culture and talent, or a stage for international stars whose values and histories may not align with those of the local audience? The debate has exposed divisions not only between fans and officials but within the broader Australian community, touching on questions of identity, inclusion, and respect.
With the Grand Final fast approaching, the AFL faces mounting pressure to reconsider its entertainment choices. Whether Snoop Dogg ultimately takes the stage or not, the conversation his booking has sparked is likely to reverberate long after the final whistle, forcing Australia to reckon with how it celebrates its biggest cultural moments—and whose voices it chooses to amplify.
