On September 28, during a game between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys, the NFL, Roc Nation, and Apple Music announced Super Bowl LX’s halftime show performer: Puerto Rican singer and rapper Bad Bunny. Since then, controversies around his performance, culture, language, and popularity have risen, especially from Trump supporters. What fans are wondering now is, was the NFL and Roc Nation’s decision to choose Bad Bunny reasonable?
Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio (Bad Bunny) was first discovered in 2016, when Puerto Rican producer DJ Luian signed him to the label Hear This Music after he released his single “Diles” on SoundCloud. After releasing “Soy Peor” that same year—his first major solo hit—his career began.
Today, Bad Bunny is a 31-year-old three-time Grammy Award winner with 80.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify—more than Kendrick Lamar and SZA, who performed at the Super Bowl LIX halftime show earlier this year. However, according to Spotify’s Newsroom, most of his audience are Hispanic or Spanish-speaking people as all of his songs are in Spanish. This factor, along with many others, sparks questions about Bad Bunny’s performance, especially for MAGA.
During an interview with Newsmax on October 6, President Donald Trump expressed his opinion about Bad Bunny performing, stating, “I’ve never heard of him. I don’t know who he is—I don’t know why they’re doing it. It’s like crazy,” further adding that he believes Bad Bunny despises ICE, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. President Trump’s claim is assumed to have arisen from Bad Bunny opting out of touring in the US for his recent album, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” due to his fear that ICE will raid his concerts and harm his fans.
Additionally, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has also expressed concern about this year’s selection, along with other Trump supporters, claiming that Bad Bunny and his songs are not American and therefore should not be performed for an American sport and audience. Yet, fans on the other side of the debate say that Bad Bunny is American because he was born and raised in Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States, giving him American citizenship.
Moreover, Bad Bunny had already indirectly performed for the Super Bowl LIV in 2020, lending his voice to Shakira and Jennifer Lopez during their halftime show, topping his already impressive experience in the music industry.
One point to consider, however, is that Bad Bunny is particularly against President Trump and his supporters, having worn a shirt that said, “¿Tu eres twitero o presidente?” (“Are you a tweeter or a president?”) in a 2017 concert. On top of that, he would repeatedly call out Trump for his orders and actions during his concerts in 2020. This bias further deepens the division among fans who are for and against his upcoming performance.
Nevertheless, fans who have accepted Bad Bunny’s selection have started learning Spanish for Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl—creating trends on social media platforms, challenging themselves to learn the language and memorize his lyrics in the next four months. On the other hand, fans who have not accepted Bad Bunny’s selection are spreading rumors and protesting the NFL to cancel Bad Bunny’s show on the same social media platforms.
The NFL, Roc Nation, and Apple Music’s decision to choose Bad Bunny for the upcoming Super Bowl LX halftime show has provoked controversy across the United States as fans from various political stances are debating whether Bad Bunny’s background renders him a reasonable pick. The real question is, where should one stand? Does Bad Bunny’s popularity make him a reasonable performer, or does his background and song language not accurately support the Super Bowl’s audience and American culture?