Lil Wayne Blasts Caleb Williams With NSFW Rant About His Painted Nails

Chicago Bears standout Caleb Williams offered a simple response to rapper Lil Wayne's NSFW comment about losing to a guy who paints his nails.

Caleb Williams led the Bears to an epic win over the Green Bay Packers during this past weekend's Wild Card Round, sending chills down Chicago natives' spines and sending Packers fans into a frenzy online.

In the fourth quarter of the recent Wild Card Round, Williams, often referred to as "Iceman," pulled off a stunning comeback against Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers.

The Windy City team scored an impressive 25 points to erase an 18-point deficit, aided by the Bears' defense and Williams' epic go-ahead 25-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore with under two minutes left.

The Bears won the contest 31-27, leaving Green Bay loyalists, including "Fireman" rapper Lil Wayne, in shock.

Lil Wayne was evidently so surprised by the Bears' unexpected victory that the 43-year-old took a jab at Williams in a post on social media.

"We just [lost] a playoff game to a n—a w purple nails we fkn suk bear a--! Bare a--!!!" he wrote. "We don't deserve to be in the playoffs. Straight like that."

Williams appeared unbothered by Lil Wayne's comment, however, responding with a snowflake and a superhero emoji. "#DABEARS," Williams added.

Chicago will face off against Kyren Williams and the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, January 18, 2026.

During a previous interview with USC Athletics, Williams explained the reasoning behind painting his nails, crediting his mother, who is a nail tech.

"It's kind of always been around me," he said. "And nobody else does it. I kind of like to do new things, [and] I don't really care what people have to say about it."

Williams' manicure made headlines earlier in the season when he was spotted wearing "988"—the suicide and crisis lifeline number—on his nails during the Bears' season opener against the Minnesota Vikings.

"Just being able to bring more awareness on a national level," he said. "It's important to me and being able to support, and, you know, I don't know if this does help or affect anything toward anybody ... but I do it for those reasons just in case it does."

Williams' decision to paint his nails has long been a topic among NFL fans since the Heisman Trophy winner joined the league. While Williams receives constant hateful comments about his outward expression, many others have rushed to defend him.

"The world, and especially the sports world, is full of homophobic racists," one user wrote on Reddit. " This is their dream scenario to dunk on a black dude with painted nails. I wasn’t rooting for him before, but definitely am now."

Another user wrote, "It shouldn’t matter if he’s the best player in the league or the worst player in the league. If you wanna paint your nails, then paint your nails."

During a previous episode of their "Nightcap" podcast, Shannon Sharpe and Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson addressed the conversation surrounding Williams, dismissing the hate and encouraging the 24-year-old to be himself.

Sharpe also slammed Williams' critics, asking, "How do you get to determine what's acceptable for someone else? Your norm is not someone else's norm."

Johnson agreed, saying, "One of the best feelings ... is being free from being normal. When you're free in being able to express yourself in however you feel. When you don't worry or care about how others think."

Williams is not the only young, rising athlete to face hate from trolls about his decision to paint his nails.

Philadelphia 76ers player Jared McCain has also garnered attention over the years for his colorful fingertips, and much like Williams, the baller usually shrugs off the negativity.

"I like to get manicures and pedicures. I take care of my body," he said in 2023. "Some of these people hate, I don't know if they do take care of their body... the hate is funny because it's usually grown men most of the time, and it's like you're a grown man just hating on a kid."