Anti-Donald Trump rapper Bad Bunny performing the next Super Bowl halftime show threatens to divide America once again, Danica Patrick fears.
Bad Bunny, real name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, was unveiled as the 2026 Super Bowl halftime act last weekend much to the dismay of MAGA commentators.
Given he has frequently hit out at Trump’s immigration policies, and even refused to tour in the US over concerns that his fans would be targeted by ICE agents, a number of leading conservative voices have blasted the NFL and fumed that the Puerto Rican artist will use the platform to push a ‘woke message’.
One of those critics is Patrick, the former racing driver and Trump supporter who took to social media to slam the choice earlier this week, also pointing out how none of Bad Bunny’s songs are written or performed in English.
Now she has doubled down on her stinging assessment, while claiming his halftime show threatens to divide the country on one of its most important evenings.
‘The Super Bowl is the most highly-watched show that we have on television the whole year. 127 million people are estimated to watch it. It’s the crown jewel on television and sports in particular, so it’s where we come together as a country,’ she told former White House strategist Stephen Kevin Bannon on his ‘War Room’ podcast.
Bad Bunny performing the Super Bowl halftime show will divide America, says Danica Patrick
‘We enjoy it, we have parties, we love watching the halftime performance and we love to sing along to that halftime performance. It’s usually one of those that’s very versatile across so many different age ranges and people watching.
‘I don’t have any problem with someone performing at halftime that is not from the United States – although Bad Bunny is technically a citizen because he was born in Puerto Rico – I don’t care where you’re actually born. What I care about is that I can sing along to the music, and his music is almost nothing in English.
‘I don’t think it will be as much fun, I don’t think it will be as uniting, and I would hate to see that it would divide us again in yet another way where 127 million people normally come together to watch it.’
Patrick also predicted that Bad Bunny’s performance may lead to counter shows during the Super Bowl halftime break for those who don’t want to watch him.
‘It’s probably going to be tempting, even for me, because I like to watch a great performance and I like to sing along,’ she added.
Patrick has only recently gotten involved in politics and began campaigning for Trump in the run-up to last year’s election. She even admitted that before then she had never even voted before.
However, since the president’s return to the White House, the 43-year-old hasn’t hesitated to wade in on a number of political issues, including the recent death of MAGA star Charlie Kirk and the subsequent suspension of Jimmy Kimmel by ABC.
The late night talk show host was briefly suspended by the network last month after he said that ‘the MAGA gang’ was attempting to portray the suspect in Kirk’s assassination ‘as anything other than one of them’.
Bad Bunny being chosen to perform has sparked fury given his criticism of Donald Trump
Patrick, who campaigned for Trump last year, fears the rapper will cause divisions in the US
Disney, the parent company to ABC, described Kimmel’s comments as ‘ill-timed and thus insensitive’ in announcing his return last week.
Patrick celebrated the news that he had been suspended but later said she understands the decision to bring him back.
Bad Bunny, meanwhile, celebrated his selection as the Super Bowl halftime act by calling it a victory for ‘my people, my culture, and our history’ amid massive blowback from MAGA world.
‘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.’
In his recent single ‘NUEVAYoL’, released over the summer, a voice sounding suspiciously similar to the president’s is also heard issuing an apology to ‘immigrants in America’.
Other MAGA commentators voiced their outrage 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.
