Why Bad Bunny’s polarizing Super Bowl halftime show felt like a slap at America

Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime amusement is officially down us. Mercifully. What began with hype and outrage, and past much outrage, ended with a amusement astir charitably described arsenic polarizing and confusing for those who were not already Bad Bunny fans. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell promised that Bad Bunny would usage the amusement to unite the satellite "in a truly originative and amusive way." It turns retired that helium was right. Most of the country, with the objection of immoderate Democrats similar California Gov. Gavin Newsom, was agreed successful its revulsion implicit a amusement that was narrowly tailored to a niche assemblage contempt being billed arsenic inclusive and respectful of America.

The pre-show hype astir Bad Bunny’s invitation to execute astatine this year’s Super Bowl began with his SNL request that viewers "learn Spanish." He walked the excavation backmost astatine the pre-Super Bowl property conference, but the sentiment ended up being true.

Then determination was the online rumor that Bad Bunny would deterioration a formal during his halftime show and grant Hispanic LGBTQ+ figures. That turned retired to beryllium a hoax.

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You’ve got to manus it to Bad Bunny and his selling team. In the weeks starring up to the Super Bowl, they made definite to captivate people’s attention, whether affirmative oregon not.

Bad Bunny performs during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 60 shot crippled betwixt the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks astatine Levi’s Stadium successful Santa Clara, California, connected Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

The Super Bowl halftime amusement was a condensed mentation of the amusement helium enactment connected during his Puerto Rico residency. As America watched, Bad Bunny began with a locomotion done a sweetener cane field. He passed by respective scenes emblematic of Puerto Rico arsenic helium opened with "Tití Me Preguntó ("Auntie Asked Me")," specified arsenic a coconut h2o basal and a domino table. As helium arrived astatine a house, viewers were treated to a mashup of respective of his different hits earlier transitioning to a homage to ’90s and ’00s reggaeton and the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it depiction of 2 dudes grinding.

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Had immoderate of the amusement been successful English, we would’ve heard a mostly affirmative connection from Bad Bunny: "My sanction is Benito Martinez Ocasio. And if I’m present contiguous astatine Super Bowl LX, it’s due to the fact that I never, ne'er stopped believing successful myself. You should besides judge successful yourself. You’re worthy much than you think. Believe me."

Bad Bunny performs during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 60 shot crippled betwixt the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, successful Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

We past proceeded to the item of the show: Lady Gaga joining the salsa set successful a mentation of "Die With a Smile" connected a signifier built to lucifer the El Morro fortress successful Old San Juan—the 1 infinitesimal wherever possibly a bulk of those contiguous astatine Levi Stadium could sing along.

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But wait, there’s more. This segues into Bad Bunny’s "Baile Inolvidable (Unforgettable Dance)," "Nueva Yol (New York)," and a symbolic handover of his Grammy.

Bad Bunny performs during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 60 shot crippled betwixt the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, successful Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Up until this point, determination wasn’t thing successful the amusement that could beryllium perceived arsenic overtly anti-American. That changed erstwhile Ricky Martin began singing the chorus of "Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawaii (What Happened to Hawaii)," which translates to:

They privation to instrumentality the rivers and the beaches distant from maine They privation to instrumentality my vicinity and for Grandma to spell distant No, don’t fto spell of the emblem and don’t hide the le lo lai (song) I don’t privation them to bash with you what happened to Hawaii

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"What happened to Hawaii" is that it was admitted into the Union arsenic its 50th state. Bad Bunny, who sings nether the auspices of a grounds statement founded by a erstwhile Venezuelan quality officer, would similar that Puerto Rico abstracted from the United States successful bid to go an autarkic country—an enactment that lone 12% of the island’s voters chose successful 2024. The grounds shows that Bad Bunny besides endorsed the pro-independence, Chávez- and Castro-sympathizing campaigner for politician of Puerto Rico.

Bad Bunny performs during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 60 shot crippled betwixt the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks astatine Levi’s Stadium successful Santa Clara, California, connected Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

The Grammy-winning artist’s halftime amusement ended with a depiction of powerfulness outages, the titular "Debí Tirar Más Fotos, and his Grammy quote, "The lone happening much almighty than hatred is love," flashing connected the large screen.

Bad Bunny walked disconnected the tract with a flag-bearing entourage successful tow. His outcry of "God Bless America!" truly meant "América, arsenic successful the Americas, not the United States. A expansive finale that was stilted, confusing, and subtly but passively-aggressively anti-American.

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This begs the question: Why adjacent invitation Bad Bunny to bash the amusement successful the archetypal place? Could the NFL marque a concern statement to bring him successful arsenic the halftime performer? Yes. As the league expands into Latin America and different markets, Bad Bunny makes sense. They some stock Mexico arsenic their biggest overseas market, for example. It was a no-brainer.

Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga basal connected the tract during the Super Bowl LX halftime amusement betwixt the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks astatine Levi’s Stadium successful Santa Clara, California, connected Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

On the different hand, this was a wide vetting failure. The halftime amusement was cautiously constructed to mainstream 2 likewise toxic ideas to viewers successful the United States: first, the thought of Puerto Rico arsenic a abstracted federation from the United States. Second, the thought of Latino individuality arsenic a federation wrong a nation, a imperishable migrant presumption abstracted from the American mainstream.

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Far from uniting the satellite "in a truly originative and amusive way," Bad Bunny delivered a highly divisive amusement that enactment individuality authorities beforehand and center. The last merchandise fell acold abbreviated of Goodell’s hype, leaving a sour sensation successful the mouths of millions of viewers.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell speaks during his authorities of the NFL quality league connected Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, successful San Jose, California, up of the Super Bowl 60 shot crippled betwixt the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. (AP Photo/Matt York)

One shudders to deliberation what the league mightiness person successful caput for adjacent twelvemonth if they importune connected forsaking their halfway assemblage successful pursuit of planetary expansion.