‘First Take’ star Stephen A. Smith doesn’t have any problem with the choice to have Bad Bunny perform the Super Bowl LX Halftime Show.
The selection of the Puerto Rican rapper to headline one of the biggest yearly events in music has drawn mixed reception. While some praised the choice of one of the world’s most popular artists, many others were upset that someone who doesn’t perform in English was selected.
It’s recently led to a movement to replace the Latin music icon – born Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio – and outrage among conservatives in Congress, such as House Speaker Mike Johnson.
But Smith, speaking on his eponymous podcast, said he had no issue with the selection of the global star and took issue with politicians like Johnson expressing their disgust.
‘Since when do you care about Super Bowl Sunday?’ Smith asked on his show. ‘Why? Because he sings in Spanish? We got a whole bunch of people in here. Hell, I know a lot of people in Miami. I got a home down there in the area. English is the second language, and I don’t mind. Don’t bother me.
‘I love my Hispanic brothers and sisters. Love ’em to death. I’m mad I don’t speak better Spanish. You sitting there walking around acting like it’s a damn shame. No. They’re great for this country.
Stephen A. Smith is defending the choice of Bad Bunny for the Super Bowl Halftime Show
There has been backlash to the selection of the Puerto Rican, especially from conservatives
‘If all of us could come together and understand the importance of compromise, It’s great for this country. [You] make me sick. Bad Bunny is a great selection by Roc Nation for Super Bowl Sunday. I don’t mind at all.
‘The NFL is trying to globalize its brand. That’s what the NFL is trying to do. That’s why they play games in Berlin. That’s why they were in Ireland just a week ago. That’s why they’ve been in France. That’s why they’re going to London. That’s why they’ve been in Germany because they see soccer and how big that’s gotten.
‘What if they globalize their brand? Because it’s all “You got the money, right?” The owners want more. How do you get more? You can get but only so much from the American citizen. You got to go worldwide.
‘The NBA has done it. Soccer has done it. Baseball’s doing it. Shohei Ohtani is the best player on the planet. This dude might be the best since Babe Ruth. Where are you from?
‘But we got Speaker Johnson spewing such ignorance. Come on, man. Come on, now. You don’t know, don’t comment, or at least ask the question. Don’t act like you know.’
Johnson’s remarks aren’t the only way conservatives are voicing their anger.
TurningPoint USA, the political group founded by late MAGA activist Charlie Kirk, is planning an ‘All American Halftime Show’ – saying the event will be ‘celebrating faith, family and freedom’.
On the new website promoting the spectacle, fans are asked encouraged to sign up for more information and are asked about what type of music they want to hear.
Smith specifically called out House Speaker Mike Johnson for ‘spewing such ignorance’
One option, referencing the fact Bad Bunny performs in Spanish, simply says: ‘Anything in English’.
President Trump, meanwhile, called the NFL’s decision to give the Super Bowl halftime show to the artist ‘crazy’.
The president told Newsmax that he was unfamiliar with the 31-year-old musician but that the NFL was wrong to give him the prestigious gig given his previously stated dislike for Trump and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
‘I never heard of him, I don’t know who he is, I don’t know why they’re doing it, it’s like, crazy,’ the president said.
