Politics
The Puerto Rican recording artist opposed Trump in 2024 and is not offering tour dates in the U.S. mainland to avoid exposing his fans to ICE raids.
MAGA influencers are furious with the National Football League – again – after the sports league announced Sunday that Bad Bunny, the superstar Puerto Rican recording artist, would headline its Super Bowl LX halftime show.
The NFL, which has a bipartisan fan base, has been leery of entering the culture wars since President Donald Trump’s first term, when the league largely capitulated to his demand that it prevent players from kneeling on the sidelines during the national anthem to protest racial inequality and police brutality.
Bad Bunny’s critics have zeroed in on his criticism of Trump’s agenda, his exclusively Spanish-language lyrics, his gender-fluid fashion choices and his comments in a recent interview sharing that part of the reason he was not touring his latest album, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” in the U.S. mainland was out of concern his concerts would become a target for Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.
The NFL did not respond to a request for comment.
Here’s why Bad Bunny’s planned appearance at the Feb. 8 halftime show in Santa Clara, California, has sparked a conservative backlash:
Who is Bad Bunny and what are his politics?
Bad Bunny, whose full name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, is a three-time Grammy winner and one of the most streamed artists in the world. His latest album, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” became the first of 2025 to surpass 7 billion Spotify streams on Sunday.
He is known for proudly representing his home island of Puerto Rico in his music and his public platforms, where he shares the U.S. territory’s culture and the challenges that it faces. (Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens.)
“What I’m feeling goes beyond myself,” Bad Bunny said in a statement announcing his selection. “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. Ve y dile a tu abuela, que seremos el HALFTIME SHOW DEL SUPER BOWL.”
Bad Bunny recently wrapped up a sold-out 31-show concert residency in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which drew hundreds of thousands of fans and is estimated to have generated more than $700 million for the island. Later this year, he will embark on a worldwide stadium tour that will include stops in Mexico, Japan, Australia and France.
The U.S. mainland was noticeably missing from his list of tour venues.
He said in a recent interview with i-D magazine that he was worried that U.S. mainland shows would have exposed his Latino fan base to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.
“ICE could be outside. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about,” he said in the interview.
He was already on shaky ground with Trump’s supporters.
In 2024, Bad Bunny offered his support for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, sharing a video of her plans for Puerto Rico on his Instagram – just moments after a speaker at Trump’s rally in New York City referred to the U.S. territory as a “floating island of garbage.”
Bad Bunny has been vocally critical of Trump. In 2017, hearrived at the Somos Livebenefitconcert, which was held to raise money for disaster relief, weeks after Hurricane Maria, wearing T-shirt that read: “¿Tu eres twitero o presidente?” (“Are you a tweeter or president?”) And he explicitly criticized Trump with vulgarities in a 2020 song.
In July, he took aim at Trump’s immigration policies in the music video for his song “NUEVAYol,” featuring a voice that sounds like Trump’s apologizing to immigrants.
“I made a mistake,” the voice says. “… I want to say that this country is nothing without the immigrants. This country is nothing without Mexicans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Colombians, Venezuelans, Cubans.”
The Super Bowl announcement triggered swift criticism from MAGA influencers, including several from the sports world.
“No songs in English should not be allowed at one of America’s highest rated television events of the year,” Danica Patrick, a former professional racing driver and rising conservative pundit, wrote on X.
“Do a little homework and it’s obvious that Bad Bunny is so much worse than most realize. Can you say, DEMONIC??” wrote Sage Steele, a former ESPN anchor and conservative speaker.
Tomi Lahren, a conservative commentator, reposted an AI-generated video of Bad Bunny saying he was never performing in the United States again because of ICE concerns and suggested sending Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, to the Super Bowl.
Jack Posobiec, another right-wing commentator, suggested that Turning Point USA host a “counter-Superbowl halftime show” with rock band Creed. He blamed “Barack Obama’s best friend” Jay-Z for the selection of Bad Bunny as the headliner. Jay-Z’s company Roc Nation has a partnership with the NFL to produce the halftime show.
“The NFL is self-destructing year after year,” Benny Johnson, a prominent podcaster, wrote on X.
Some prominent Democrats responded to Johnson’s post. “Another MAGA Karen trying to censor popular artists,” wrote Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona).
What has Trump said?
Trump has not commented on Bad Bunny’s selection as the Super Bowl headliner, but that could change any minute.
Trump has long had a tumultuous relationship with the NFL, predating his first term as president. As a businessman, Trump tried unsuccessfully on several occasions to become an owner of an NFL team.
During his first term as president, Trump demanded that NFL owners fire or suspend players who kneel during the national anthem in protest and urged fans to boycott.
The league, which has long marketed itself as a bastion of patriotism, eventually created policies to keep protesting players in the locker room during the anthem.
Trump’s relationship with the NFL has seemingly improved. Earlier this year, he became the first sitting U.S. president to attend the Super Bowl. In May, Trump announced that the 2027 NFL Draft will take place on the National Mall in Washington.
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