Latino pop star and Trump critic Bad Bunny has defined his selection as the Super Bowl halftime act as a victory for ‘my people, my culture, and our history’ amid massive blowback from MAGA world.
The NFL surprised many by announcing Sunday night that the Puerto Rican musician was chosen to headline the highly-anticipated Super Bowl halftime show in California next February.
Bad Bunny — who sings all his songs in Spanish — has been critical of President Trump’s immigration policies and recently admitted he refused to tour in the US over concerns that his fans would be targeted by ICE.
In his recent single ‘NUEVAYoL’ – which was released over the summer – a voice sounding suspiciously similar to Trump’s is also heard issuing an apology to ‘immigrants in America’.
The 31-year-old singer, real name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, sent a clear message to the Latino community after being unveiled as the halftime act.
‘What I’m feeling goes beyond myself,’ he said. ‘It’s for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown… this is for my people, my culture, and our history.’
MAGA commentators went ballistic online after the announcement, with some predicting Bad Bunny would hijack the American platform to push a ‘woke’ narrative and criticize Trump’s immigration policy.
Bad Bunny has declared his selection as the next Super Bowl halftime act a victory for ‘my people, my culture, and our history’
MAGA commentators have fumed at the choice given the rapper’s criticism of Donald Trump
Bad Bunny has frequently hit out at Trump’s controversial immigration policy over the past year
Anti-DEI activist Robby Starbuck claims the NFL has ‘decided to make the Super Bowl political’ by choosing him as the halftime performer, while adding on X: ‘This is not a pick designed to unite football fans or let people just enjoy the show. It was a pick designed to divide fans and no doubt Bad Bunny will find some way to push a woke message.
‘Are NFL owners in on this idiocy or are they just culturally that disconnected from reality and how Roger uses the NFL to push left wing social issues? Is it that hard to pick a unifying music act who doesn’t want to peddle woke propaganda?
‘Does this guy really scream American football to anyone? Be for real with me. No one thinks he does. This isn’t about music, it’s about putting a guy on stage who hates Trump and MAGA.’
Conservative radio host Dan O’Donnell also wrote: ‘The NFL just announced Bad Bunny as its Super Bowl halftime show. Bad Bunny said two weeks ago he won’t perform in the US because he’s scared ICE agents would deport his fans. Turns out his business sense far outweighs his moral convictions.’
‘Having Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl Halftime Show is the equivalent of having Morgan Wallen at a soccer game in Mexico. It’s just not a good fit at all for the sport,’ said Pennsylvania podcaster Erick Klambara.
Conservative political commentator and YouTuber Benny Johnson also accused the NFL of ‘self-destructing year after year.’
While the league still has a significant say in who performs, Jay Z’s Roc Nation company has been primarily tasked with selecting the Super Bowl halftime show act since 2019 as its ‘live music entertainment strategist’.
Kendrick Lamar was chosen by Jay-Z as last year’s headliner in New Orleans, with his performance sparking controversy after he chose to sing his infamous ‘Not Like Us’ diss track about Drake and take aim at racist stereotypes in America.
While the MAGA faithful are not impressed, liberals are enthused by the prospect of Bad Bunny starring at the Super Bowl next year and potentially condemning Trump’s immigration stance on the biggest stage possible.
‘The MAGA meltdown over bad bunny is gonna be epic,’ said one user.
Another commented: ‘Bad Bunny is going to be the Super Bowl half time show. In other news, republicans and maga everywhere slowly cry themselves to sleep…’
‘Bad Bunny performing at the Super Bowl is the biggest F.U. to the current administration,’ a third wrote. ‘He’s not touring in the U.S. because of fears that ‘ICE could be outside [my concert].’ But now, For one night, America’s biggest halftime event will be in Spanish. Achoooo PR’.
While one shared a meme of British actor Simon Pegg getting angry on the phone and joked: ‘When Republicans find out that they can’t call ICE on Bad Bunny for the Super Bowl halftime show because he’s Puerto Rican.’
Antonio threw his support behind Kamala Harris in last year’s presidential election, with an offensive comment about his native Puerto Rico at a Trump rally in New York City somewhat influencing his decision.
Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe infamously caused outrage when he called Puerto Rico a ‘floating island of garbage’ at the Madison Square Garden rally last October, while also saying ‘these Latinos, they love making babies’ in a jibe about birth control.
Prior to the election, Antonio shared a video from Democratic nominee Harris on Instagram, in which she said: ‘There’s so much at stake in this election for Puerto Rican voters and for Puerto Rico.’
‘I will never forget what Donald Trump did and what he did not do when Puerto Rico needed a caring and a competent leader,’ she continued in a reference to the Republican nominee’s response after Hurricane Maria swept through Puerto Rico in 2017. Trump drew criticism at the time for visiting the island to survey the damage and tossing paper towels into a crowd, which many deemed insensitive.
‘He abandoned the island, tried to block aid after back-to-back devastating hurricanes and offered nothing more than paper towels and insults,’ Harris added.
One of Antonio’s more recent songs, ‘Una Velita’, is also a protest against the government response following Hurricane Maria.
A few hours before the Super Bowl announcement, Bad Bunny dropped a huge hint when he revealed that his decision to exclude the US from his world tour was being tweaked.
He posted on X in Spanish: ‘I’ve been thinking about it these days, and after discussing it with my team, I think I’ll do just one date in the United States.’
Antonio has also received plenty of support from his fellow artists, including Jennifer Lopez and Bruno Mars – who are both of Puerto Rican descent.
J-Lo shared a photo of the two of them together on Instagram and wrote: ‘Bori [Puerto Rico] ganggg’.
Mars quoted Antonio’s statement on representing his ‘people’ and ‘culture’, before adding: ‘Go get em Bad Bunny!’
Fellow Puerto Rican singer Jennifer Lopez celebrated Bad Bunny’s huge Super Bowl news
The artist has excluded the US from his upcoming world tour amid fears of a potential ICE raid
Shakira and Bad Bunny perform during the Pepsi Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show at Hard Rock Stadium on February 02, 2020 in Miami, Florida
Colombian icon Shakira also congratulated Bad Bunny, saying on Instagram: ‘Welcome back to the Super Bowl stage! Aqui va mi gente latina [Here comes my Latino people]!!’
Roc Nation president Jay-Z, meanwhile, declared it an ‘honor’ for Antonio to be headlining the halftime show.
‘What Benito has done and continues to do for Puerto Rico is truly inspiring,’ Jay-Z said on Sunday night. ‘We are honored to have him on the world’s biggest stage.’
Trump is yet to comment on the NFL and Roc Nation choosing Antonio as their next Super Bowl star.
The 79-year-old has made sporting events a huge feature of his second term as president, attending a host of major fixtures since his re-election last year.
He was in attendance at the New Orleans Super Bowl back in February and will be heavily expected to do the same when the NFL showpiece goes ahead at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara next year.
Amid the Bad Bunny news, Trump took to his Truth Social platform on Sunday night to speak out on a more technical controversy he believes is damaging the NFL.
‘Hard to watch the new NFL kickoff,’ the President fumed. ‘It’s wrong on every level. They should end it, immediately. Bad for the game of football! President DJT’.
