Bad Bunny’s headlining the NFL’s Super Bowl LX halftime show quickly became a cultural flashpoint. Hours after the confirmation, conservative quarters went wild, suggesting that the league was showing disdain for the base that supports it. #boycottsuperbowl trended, and Turning Point USA even vowed an alternative “All American Halftime Show.” The uproar is now a flash point in the broader tug-of-war about what the Super Bowl is all about.
For politically active sports fans, this confrontation is more than music about identity, principles, and the NFL’s shifting audience strategy. Bad Bunny’s international superstardom, Spanish-language performances, and vocal political views have run directly afoul with the group of viewers for whom the halftime stage is an extension of the American tradition. Here’s a rundown of the leading moments, reactions, and aftershocks defining this high-profile confrontation.
1. The NFL’s Calculated Risk
League officials understood that Bad Bunny’s nomination would provoke fierce reactions. Writing for Wired, Anna Lagos called it “a calculated business decision” to appeal to the newer audience and the emerging Hispanic audience. Bad Bunny, the globe’s leading streaming artist from 2020 through 2022 under the auspices of Spotify, brings international appeal and cultural clout. The NFL’s 2019 agreement with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation to cohost the halftime show sought to bring some edge to predictable halftime performances. Selecting an artist with political edge and crossing appeal demonstrates the league’s comfort with taking the quick backlash for the potential audience gain down the road.
2. First-Ever Spanish-Language Halftime Show
Bad Bunny’s appearance will be the first all-Spanish Super Bowl halftime show a fact that he proudly owns. “Go tell your grandmother, we’ll be the Super Bowl Halftime Show,” he stated. For fans, it’s a celebration of Latino pride on the grandest stages around the globe. For detractors, it’s breaking with tradition. Right-leaning commentators have called attention to the fact that the event will be presented in Spanish, symbolically representative to them of the perceived shift among NFL leaders away from mainstream American cultural norms.
3. Politically Polarizing Actions Fomenting the Rift
Bad Bunny’s public denunciation of Donald Trump’s immigration agenda and endorsement of Kamala Harris for the 2024 election has brought him onto the political map. In a music video, someone sounding like Trump praises immigrants, declaring, “This country is nothing without Mexicans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Colombians, Venezuelans, Cubans.” Skipping a continental United States tour for fear ICE would come for Latino fans only provided further fuel for conservative suspicion. Both sides have been repeatedly cited by detractors to demonstrate that he is not the Super Bowl incarnate that they envision.
4. Trump and Republican Leadership Opine
According to some conservative commentators and reports on social media, the selection was met with criticism from figures including former President Donald Trump, stating, “I’ve never heard of him. I don’t know who he is.” House Speaker Mike Johnson reached the same decision, with the implication that national treasure Lee Greenwood would be more appropriate due to the event’s likely effects on “young, impressionable children.” Some online commentators speculated about increased law enforcement presence, though no official confirmation has been issued, with Others on social media amplified speculation of heavy security.
5. Counter Program to Turning Point USA
In response, the conservative group Turning Point USA later announced an “All American Halftime Show” airing during Bad Bunny, with the promise to honor “faith, family & freedom.” Although not confirmed, an event schedule included the potential to include performers like Chris Stapleton, Tom MacDonald, and even Lara Trump herself. The event was framed as an alternative that emphasizes traditional cultural values, turning the halftime event itself into a battlefield for opposed American identities.
6. Boycott Calls for Fan and Online Campaigns
Online calls for boycotts gathered significant traction, though viewership is still expected to remain strong, though overall viewing is expected to remain strong. The boycottsuperbowl hashtag has been trending, both provoked by frustration with the choice for the halftime show, but also with recurring team games. For some, the boycott is an expression; for others, an actual step back from a league that’s become too political.
7. Bad Bunny’s Defiant Response
Instead of backing down, Bad Bunny invoked his October 4 Saturday Night Live monologue to ridicule the backlash, saying that “everybody is happy” about the gig, “even Fox News.” He changed to Spanish to present the event as a group accomplishment for all Latinos around the globe: “Muestra nuestro jalón, nuestra aportación a este país, que ninguno va a poder llevársela o borrarla.” His point was simple this is a matter of representation, and it matters not who complains.
NFL’s Bad Bunny risk has highlighted deep cultural and political fault lines among fans. To some, it’s a daring celebration of diversity and international appeal; to others, it’s anathema to tradition and commonalities. Whatever the boycott’s real success or obscurity, the furor reveals how the Super Bowl halftime show has grown to be more than spectacle now it’s a forum where America’s cultural arguments are played out live.
