Bad Bunny Super Bowl show sparks anti-American backlash

Bad bunny Super Bowl Halftime Show It is officially behind us. With mercy. What started with sound and fury, and then more fury, ended with a show that was charitably described as polarizing and confusing to those who weren’t already Bad Bunny fans. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell promised that Bad Bunny will use the show to unite the world “in a really creative and fun way.” It turns out he was right. Most of the country, except for some Democrats like the governor of California. Gavin Newsomwere united in their disgust at a show that was narrowly tailored to a niche audience despite being described as inclusive and respectful of America.

The pre-show hype over Bad Bunny being invited to perform at this year’s Super Bowl began with SNL asking viewers to “learn Spanish.” He went back to the pits in the pre-Super Bowl press conference, but the sentiment ended up being right.

Then there was an online rumor that Bad Bunny would wear a dress during his halftime performance and honor LGBTQ+ Hispanic characters. That turned out to be a hoax.

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You’ve got to hand it to Bad Bunny and company Marketing team. In the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, they made sure to get people’s attention, whether positive or not.

Bad Bunny performs during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on February 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Maury Gash)

The Super Bowl halftime show was an abbreviated version of the show he presented during his time Puerto Rico Accommodation. As America watched, Bad Bunny began walking across the sugar cane field. He goes through several typical Puerto Rican scenes when he opens with “Tití Me Preguntó (“Auntie Asked Me”),” such as a coconut water stand and a domino table. Arriving at a house, viewers were treated to a medley of several of his other hits before moving on to pay homage to 90s and 00s reggaeton and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it depiction of two guys grinding it out.

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If any of the show had been in English, we would have heard a mostly positive message from Bad Bunny: “My name is Benito Martinez Ocasio. And if I’m here today at Super Bowl LX, it’s because I never stopped believing in myself. You should also believe in yourself. You’re worth more than you think. Believe me.”

Bad Bunny performs during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, February 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, California. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Then we moved on to the highlights of the show: lady gaga Joining the salsa band for a version of “Die With a Smile” on a stage designed to resemble Old San Juan’s El Morro Castle — the only moment when perhaps the majority of those in attendance at Levi’s 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 the symbolic handover of his Grammy Award.

Bad Bunny performs during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, February 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, California. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Up to this point, there has been nothing in the show that could be considered overtly anti-American. That changed when Ricky Martin started singing the chorus.”Lo Que Lo Paso in Hawaii (What happened to Hawaii),” which translates to:

They want to take the rivers and the beaches away from me They want to take my neighborhood and my grandmother to leave No, don’t leave the flag And don’t forget the Lo Lo Lai song (Song) I don’t want them to do to you what happened to Hawaii

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“What happened to Hawaii” was that it was admitted into the Union as the 50th state. Bad Bunny, who performs under the auspices of a record label founded by a former Venezuelan intelligence officer, favors Puerto Rico seceding from the United States so it can become an independent nation — an option chosen by just 12% of the island’s voters in 2024. The record shows Bad Bunny also endorsed the pro-independence candidate sympathetic to Chavez and Castro for governor of Puerto Rico.

Bad Bunny performs during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on February 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Grammy Award winning artist The halftime show ended with A depiction of a power outage, the name “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” flashing on the big screen, and his Grammy quote, “The only thing stronger than hate is love.”

Bad Bunny exited the stadium accompanied by a flag-bearing entourage. His cry of “God bless America!” It really means “America, as in Americasnot the United States. The grand finale was stilted, awkward, and subtly anti-American but passive aggressive.

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This begs the question: Why was Bad Bunny even invited to do the show in the first place? Can the NFL make a trade case to bring him in as a halftime performer? Yes. As the league expanded into Latin America and other markets, Bad Bunny made sense. They both share Mexico is their largest overseas marketFor example. It was a no-brainer.

Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga stand on the field during the halftime show of Super Bowl LX between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on February 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

On the other hand, this was a clear failure of scrutiny. The halftime show was carefully constructed to popularize two similarly toxic ideas to viewers in the United States: first, the idea of ​​Puerto Rico as a separate country from the United States. Secondly, an idea Latino identity as a nation Within the nation, a permanent immigrant status separate from the American mainstream.

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Far from uniting the world “in a really creative and fun way,” Bad Bunny delivered a very divisive show that put identity politics front and center. The final product fell well short of Goodell’s hype, leaving a bitter taste in the mouths of millions of viewers.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell speaks during his NFL news conference on Monday, February 2, 2026, in San Jose, Calif., before Super Bowl 60 between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. (AP Photo/Matt York)

One shudders to think what the league might have in mind next year if it insists on abandoning its core audience in pursuit of global expansion.