Bad Bunny (Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio), is a highly famous Puerto Rican singer, rapper, and producer. Bad Bunny has widely popularized the reggaeton style of music as well as Latin trap, spreading it to America and other parts of the world as well. He also blends many types of music, such as rock, soul, and bachata into his music as well. In fact, he is so popular that in late September of 2025, he was announced to be the main performer at Super Bowl LX on February 8. This would make history as he will be the first male Latin American artist on track to lead the halftime show as well as the first time a Super Bowl halftime show will be performed completely in Spanish. Similarly to other big changes, this announcement as well as stories centering around Bad Bunny and the Super Bowl performance has gained a lot of controversial attention.
According to an article by Ediberto Román of The Conversation news outlet on October 16, 2025, many people have criticized the choice of Bad Bunny being the Super Bowl halftime performer. These people include Homeland Security head Kristi Noem and even President Donald Trump who stated the selection was “absolutely ridiculous”. Along with people criticizing his Puerto Rican heritage, there have been many complaints about his actions in the past as well. According to Román, he has openly been against the Trump administration, has supported Kamala Harris, declined to tour on the U.S. mainland, and even spoke out against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). President Trump’s areas of criticism of him revolved around the areas of Latino representation, immigration politics, and artists expressing political views.
Based on Wesley Stenzel’s article in Entertainment Weekly, Bad Bunny had previously avoided touring in mainland U.S. to avoid ICE targeting his Latino fan base. Kristi Noem of Homeland Security confirmed that ICE would be at the Super Bowl, adding to the concerns of this controversy. According to Eboni Boykin-Patterson, an entertainment reporter, there has been speculation that Bad Bunny plans to wear a dress during the halftime show to symbolize Puerto Rican queer icons. Additionally, Turning Point USA, an American nonprofit organization advocating for conservative politics, plans to host an “All-American Halftime Show” to protest Ban Bunny’s cultural influence.
Despite all the negativity, there still exist positive outlooks on Bad Bunny’s performance. When asking two sophomores at Sewanhaka High School, Toshan Hitraj and Nathan Mathew, about their opinion on Bad Bunny’s halftime performance, they responded with positive remarks. Toshan stated “having bad bunny performing this year highlights this connection [music and culture]”, even connecting his performances with “growing diversity within music and sports”. Similarly, Nathan claimed that his performance is “one of the best decisions the Super Bowl has made for half time”.
This situation has become a national flashpoint with the situation becoming less about music and more about identity, immigration, and gender norms. It has become a political culture-war and a debate over language/Latino representation. With the halftime performance only a couple of days away, the nation’s eyes will be on this show.
