SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Super Bowl LX halftime show headliner Bad Bunny, just like pregame performer Green Day, paused the political commentary during the NFL’s title game.
The Puerto Rican superstar performed a joyful and rapid-fire medley of a dozen songs Sunday at Levi’s Stadium. Singing almost entirely in Spanish, Bad Bunny made good on his pregame promise to throw “a huge party,” and his performance had guest appearances from Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin. That marked a reunion of sorts, as Lady Gaga headlined the halftime show for Super Bowl LI in 2017.
What didn’t happen, though, is a repeat of many appearances, on stage and off, in which Bad Bunny has criticized U.S. President Donald Trump and administration policies.
That political outspokenness has been a flashpoint in the run-up to the high-profile cultural event. Bad Bunny used his Grammy Awards platform last weekend to say, “Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say: ICE out,” again challenging tactics by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The closest he came to a political statement was toward the end of the set, in which the scoreboard read “The only thing more powerful than hate is love” and he held a football with the message, “Together, we are America.”
The presence of Bad Bunny, as well as Green Day, helped lead U.S. President Trump to decide not to attend the game. He called the Bay Area location of the game “too far away,” but also said of the band and halftime show headliner Bad Bunny, “I’m anti-them… I think it’s a terrible choice. All it does is sow hatred. Terrible.”
The NFL’s ability to largely muzzle both acts for their Super Bowl performances is further testament to its immense power, both within sports and U.S. culture more broadly.
At the beginning of Super Bowl week, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell appeared unconcerned about controversy surrounding the forthcoming appearance, and as it turned out, with good reason.
“Bad Bunny is, and I think that was demonstrated [Sunday], one of the great artists in the world. And that’s one of the reasons we chose him,” he said.
Still, Trump quickly responded after the halftime show, reviving his criticism of both Bad Bunny and the NFL.
“Nobody understands a word this guy is saying, and the dancing is disgusting, especially for young children that are watching from throughout the U.S.A., and all over the world,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “This ‘show’ is just a ‘slap in the face’ to our country. … And, by the way, the NFL should immediately replace its ridiculous new kickoff rule.”
An Unprecedented Draw?
The Bad Bunny halftime show is likely to be a major, if not historic, draw—and perhaps could also outdraw Super Bowl LX itself. Last year’s Super Bowl set a U.S. television audience record, with the Kendrick Lamar halftime show posting an average of 133.5 million, near the game’s peak audience of 137.7 million in the second quarter.
As NBC is looking for Sunday’s game to be the fourth straight Super Bowl to establish a new viewership milestone, a similar dynamic might happen with Bad Bunny.
“This is actually one of my favorite combinations, sport and music, and something where I feel a lot of passion,” Bad Bunny said.
Adding to the lofty viewership potential is Bad Bunny’s extensive multicultural and cross-genre appeal that attracts a wide range of demographics, including those who don’t ordinarily watch NFL games. As a result, there likely will be an outsized audience for the game’s Spanish-language broadcast.
The selection of Bad Bunny, meanwhile, prompted the conservative Turning Point USA to develop a competing halftime program, “The All-American Halftime Show,” headlined by Kid Rock. There is a long history, however, of unsuccessful attempts to counterprogram the Super Bowl.
