The decision to hand the Super Bowl halftime show, the most-watched musical slot in American sports, to Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny is nothing short of a red flag: a Spanish-singing Latin artist, a fierce critic of Donald Trump who previously vowed not to perform in the U.S., a vocal supporter of transgender rights known for his gender-fluid fashion choices.
With the administration reportedly considering deploying ICE agents at the stadium, the question looms: Will this go off without incident?
In a perfect world, or simply a less divided and hate-driven one, the National Football League’s choice of Bad Bunny to headline the Super Bowl halftime show would be met with a shrug and a nod: “Of course. Obvious. Makes sense.”
After all, he is arguably the most popular male artist in the world in the first half of this decade. He’s undoubtedly the most successful Spanish-language singer of all time and a defining figure of what music sounds like in the 2020s.
Bad Bunny has won three Grammy Awards and 11 Latin Grammys. He was the most-streamed artist on Spotify for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022. His 2022 album "Un Verano Sin Ti" is the most-streamed album in Spotify’s history. Just last month, his song DTMF became the first 2025 release to hit one billion streams on the platform.
He’s also a professional wrestler, a movie actor, a former partner of Kendall Jenner, and a brand ambassador for Adidas sneakers and Calvin Klein underwear. He’s hosted Saturday Night Live twice. Truly, aside from Taylor Swift, no one can claim a larger global footprint today than Bad Bunny.
Still, the announcement that on February 8 in Santa Clara, California, Bad Bunny will command the most coveted 13 minutes in pop music, better known as the Super Bowl halftime show, was met with resistance from roughly half the country. Because today, everything is political. Then again, Bad Bunny is the last person who would deny that he’s a deeply political artist.
The group tasked with selecting the halftime headliner includes the NFL, sponsor Apple Music, and Roc Nation, the entertainment company founded by Jay-Z.
Last year’s show, led by Kendrick Lamar, was politically charged as well, featuring a prison yard-themed stage, a living American flag that split in two, and a cameo by Samuel L. Jackson as a critical version of Uncle Sam.
While Lamar’s performance was widely remembered, it also prompted hundreds of complaints to the Federal Communications Commission for “not enough white people on stage.”
One could have assumed the NFL would avoid that kind of headache this year. The U.S. is currently under solidly conservative control, and there’s no pressure to elevate politically outspoken artists.
That makes the choice of Bad Bunny all the more subversive.
Nearly a decade after the Colin Kaepernick saga, when the quarterback was ousted from the league after kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality toward blacks, the very same NFL, once cozy with Trump and known for banning political expression during games, is handing its biggest platform to an artist who, over the past year, has delivered some of the most pointed criticism of Trump and his administration.
The Super Bowl will mark his first U.S. performance of the year, breaking his self-imposed boycott of the country.
'I think I'll do just one show in the United States'
Bad Bunny, 31, got his stage name from a childhood photo of him wearing bunny ears and scowling. Born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, he grew up in the Puerto Rican coastal town of Vega Baja, the son of a truck driver and a schoolteacher.
He began singing in a church children’s choir, but at home, his parents introduced him to a wide range of musical styles, many of which echo in his songs today.
With a deep love for Latin Trap and the eclectic influences of his upbringing, Benito began uploading his own music to SoundCloud in 2016. His breakout came when the track "Diles" went viral, catching the attention of music producer DJ Luian, who later signed him to his label, Hear This Music.
That led to Bad Bunny’s global breakthrough with the single "Soy Peor," which has since racked up over a billion views on YouTube. From there, the “bad bunny” skyrocketed.
What’s especially notable about Bad Bunny’s rise, particularly in the context of his upcoming Super Bowl halftime show, is that the bigger and more global he became, the more rooted and political he seemed.
His announcement of the Super Bowl performance was distinctly Puerto Rican: donning a traditional pava hat and a suit inspired by salsa legend Héctor Lavoe, he sat atop a football goalpost at sunset on a Puerto Rican beach.
The reveal came just a week after he wrapped up a summer tour of 31 concerts in San Juan, capped with a live-streamed finale on Amazon Music, the most-watched individual artist broadcast in the platform’s history. Every show sold out, injecting an estimated $400 million to $600 million into Puerto Rico’s economy.
Bad Bunny’s decision to perform only in San Juan, avoiding any of the 50 U.S. states was driven by contemporary politics. He expressed concern that ICE agents, the U.S. agency responsible for immigration enforcement, might attend his concerts and detain members of the audience.
“There were many reasons why I didn’t show up in the U.S., and none of them were out of hate,” Bad Bunny said in the summer. “I’ve performed there many times. I’ve enjoyed connecting with Latinos who have been living in the United States.”
“But there was the issue of—like, f**king ICE could be outside (my concert venue). And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
When he announced the Super Bowl gig, he tweeted simply: “I think I'll do just one show in the United States.”
What many Americans don’t realize is that Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens who pay federal taxes, just without voting rights.
Technically, Bad Bunny’s 31 San Juan shows were in the U.S. He simply made fans from the 50 states come to him, in a place where ICE has no real presence. Like many Americans, the Trump administration also does not treat Puerto Rico as part of the U.S. Bad Bunny, for his part, supports full independence for the island.
'Shameful they've decided to pick somebody who seems to hate America so much'
Bad Bunny is expected to become the first artist in Super Bowl halftime history to perform entirely in Spanish, a bold statement at what remains the last true communal television event in the United States.
Latin music is the fastest-growing genre in the country, generating $1.4 billion annually. Yet this surge comes as Spanish-speaking Latinos face growing hostility, with Trump-era immigration agents reportedly stopping people on the street.
The decision to spotlight Bad Bunny brings with it everything Trump’s America seems to reject: a Spanish-singing Latin artist, an outspoken critic of Trump who endorsed Kamala Harris in the 2020 elections, a vocal supporter of transgender rights who embraces gender-fluid fashion. So it was no surprise when right-wing influencers lashed out.
Right-wing conservative commentator Benny Johnson has slammed Bad Bunny, calling him a “massive Trump hater” and an “anti-ICE activist” who has “no songs in English.”
Conservative influencer Robby Starbuck asked his followers on X: “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.”
Former NASCAR driver who turned a conservative influencer, Danica Patrick, added: "No songs in English should not be allowed at one of America’s highest rated television events of the year."
Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s former campaign manager, said ICE agents would be present at the Super Bowl.
“It's so shameful that they've decided to pick somebody who just seems to hate America so much,” he said.
Not long after, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem echoed the message, saying that ICE will be “all over” the 2026 Super Bowl.
Speaking on Benny Johnson’s podcast, she added, "I think people should not be coming to the Super Bowl unless they’re law-abiding Americans who love this country.”
When asked about the NFL, Noem replied: “Well, they suck and we’ll win, and God will bless us."
Back in 2020, Bad Bunny appeared as a supporting act in the Super Bowl halftime show headlined by Jennifer Lopez and Shakira.
The two stars tried to send a political message by including children in cages on stage, a direct reference to Trump’s immigration policies during his first term.
This time, Trump’s second term is seen by many as even more aggressive, and Bad Bunny is no longer a sidekick. That alone raises the stakes for a potentially explosive performance, and it will be interesting to see how much creative freedom the NFL will actually grant him.
Still, for those inclined to hope, there’s always the possibility that these 13 minutes could simply offer a celebration of Latin music, now a global dancefloor soundtrack. After all, there may be no country in greater need of a few minutes of pure joy than the United States.