Following a shot of a Puerto Rican flag draped on the Statue of Liberty, a voice that sounds suspiciously similar to Trump can be heard saying: “I made a mistake. I want to apologise to the immigrants in America. I mean the United States – I know America is the whole continent.
“I want to say that this country is nothing without the immigrants. This country is nothing without Mexicans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Colombians, Venezuelans, Cubans…”
Bad Bunny skips US on world tour
Bad Bunny opted to leave mainland US out of his world tour due to concerns over ICE following immigration crackdowns amid Trump’s return to office.
“There were many reasons why I didn’t show up in the US, and none of them were out of hate,” he told I-D magazine in September. “But there was the issue of – like, [expletive] ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
Moments before the Super Bowl announcement, Bad Bunny tweeted in Spanish that after ‘thinking these last few days, I think I’ll do one date in the United States’.
In a statement, he said his performance would be for ‘my people, my culture, and our history’.
Despite excitement from fans and the NFL calling the decision ‘carefully thought through’, the move sparked backlash from critics unhappy about a Spanish-speaking artist headlining the biggest American sporting event of the year.
Seemingly forgetting that Puerto Rico is in fact a US territory, one conservative commentator labelled Bad Bunny ‘anti-American’ while petitions to replace him were created, and Turning Point USA, the right-wing organisation founded by the late Charlie Kirk, even announced it would be hosting a rival halftime show.
‘I’ve never heard of him’
Trump also weighed in on the global music icon performing at the Super Bowl, telling Newsmax’s Greg Kelly: “I’ve never heard of him.
“I don’t know who he is… I don’t know why they’re doing it. It’s crazy. And then they blame it on some promoter they hired to pick up entertainment — I think it’s absolutely ridiculous.”
Bad Bunny shuts down critics on Saturday Night Live
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During his SNL opening monologue in October, Bad Bunny jokingly addressed conservative backlash over his upcoming halftime show.
“You might not know this, but I’m doing the Super Bowl halftime show and I’m very happy,” he said. “I think everyone is happy about it – even Fox News.”
After delivering a heartfelt message in Spanish, he switched back to English and told viewers ‘if you didn’t understand what I just said, you have four months to learn’.
Trumps benches himself from Super Bowl
In January, the POTUS confirmed that he would not be attending the Super Bowl while slamming the performers.
“I’m anti-them. I think it’s a terrible choice. All it does is sow hatred. Terrible,” he told the New York Post of Bad Bunny and Green Day – another longtime critic of his.
However, Trump insisted this was not the reason for his absence, adding that ‘it’s just too far away’.
Bad Bunny made history at the 2026 Grammys by becoming the first artist to win Album of the Year for a Spanish-language release.
He also picked up two other awards and used his time on stage to share a message of hope amid nationwide protests against the actions of ICE.
“Before I say thanks to God, I’m gonna say ‘ICE OUT’. We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens, we’re Americans,” the rapper said, before adding: “The only thing that’s more powerful than hate is love.”
Rapper Bad Bunny, real name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, stunned the crowd at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday (February 8), with a groundbreaking Spanish-language performance that saw him wheeling through a field of sugarcane as he belted some of his biggest songs.
Bad Bunny’s fast-paced music may have been hard to follow for some unfamiliar with Spanish or his particular style of Latin trap, wowing many fans in the stadium but leaving some furious after they couldn’t understand a word.
Trump appeared to be in the latter group, unloading on the Puerto Rican singer who has won six Grammys and been the most-streamed artist of the year on Spotify four times. But despite these accolades, the president thought his set was ‘disgusting’.Taking to Truth Social, the POTUS wrote: « The Super Bowl Halftime Show is absolutely terrible, one of the worst, EVER! It makes no sense, is an affront to the Greatness of America, and doesn’t represent our standards of Success, Creativity, or Excellence.
« 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.
« This ‘Show’ is just a ‘slap in the face’ to our Country, which is setting new standards and records every single day — including the Best Stock Market and 401(k)s in History!
« There is nothing inspirational about this mess of a Halftime Show and watch, it will get great reviews from the Fake News Media, because they haven’t got a clue of what is going on in the REAL WORLD
« And, by the way, the NFL should immediately replace its ridiculous new Kickoff Rule. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! President DONALD J. TRUMP. »
Trump was not in attendance at this year’s Super Bowl, after previously claiming that it was ‘too far’ for him t
Speaking to the New York Post before the biggest game in the NFL calendar, the president made it clear that he did not like the politics of the artists playing at the Super Bowl, which included the vocally anti-ICE and anti-MAGA Green Day.
Having previously claimed he’d ‘never heard’ of Bad Bunny, Trump said: « I’m anti-them. I think it’s a terrible choice. All it does is sow hatred. Terrible. »
So perhaps it is unsurprising that Trump was not moved by the Puerto Rican singer’s performance in a language spoken by over 40 million Americans and 600 million people around the world.
But some of the less subtle messaging in the Latin-infused halftime show likely enraged the president further, with a billboard pointedly reading ‘the only thing more powerful than hate is love’ as the set came to close.
The final shot of the historic halftime performance was Bad Bunny gripping a football while surrounded by Latin American performers. The ball simply read: « Together we are America. »
Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX halftime show was already groundbreaking before it had even begun, as the first-ever Spanish language music set to grace the biggest date in the NFL season.
The symbolism of the moment was clearly not lost on Bad Bunny, real name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, who packed his roughly 15-minute set with Latin American cultural and artistic references, as well as a few pointed messages.
Bringing the sugarcane fields of Puerto Rico to San Francisco’s Levi’s Stadium, Ocasio dressed all in white as he belted out his biggest tracks and wheeled past famous faces like Cardi B and Pedro Pascal, even featuring Lady Gaga in a surprising guest spot.
But it was one of the smaller moments that many will have missed that some found to be the most poignant of the night.While tearing through the fields surrounded by pulsating dancers, the rapper briefly bent down to a small boy.
This young boy, who was stood in front of a TV, was then handed a Grammy by Bad Bunny.
But while this could be read as an exploration of how his success, winning six of these awards, encourages the younger generations, many thought it was a more direct political statement.
« The little boy, Bad Bunny, gave the Grammy to resemble Liam Ramos. Wouldn’t be surprised is it was intentional, » one X user argued.
Liam Ramos is the little five-year-old boy who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers with his father in January, while walking to his home from school in Columbia Heights, Minnesota.
With the rest of the set signaling Bad Bunny’s solidarity with his fellow Spanish speakers amid a year of hardline immigration crackdowns, another user concurred: « Pretty sure Bad Bunny gave one of his Grammys to Liam Ramos, well done sir! What an AMAZING SHOW!!! Love over hate, always. »
Yet while many wondered if the boy was Liam, child actor Lincoln Fox confirmed on Instagram that he had been playing Bad Bunny’s younger self. He said: « I’ll remember this day forever! @badbunnypr – it was my truest honor. »
But while many were struck by this touching moment, it was one of a number of somewhat subtle messages littering Bad Bunny’s performance.
In one, the global music icon presented a football to the camera as he left the sugarcane field, with the ball simply reading: « Together we are America. »
Meanwhile, as fireworks lit-up the stadium ahead of the second half in the struggle between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, a billboard above the crowd stated ‘the only thing more powerful than hate is love’.
This echoed the sentiments Bad Bunny expressed while accepting a Grammy last week, where he said: « We are not savage. We are not animals, we are not aliens, we are humans, and we are Americans. »He added: « The hate gets more powerful with more hate. The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love. »
Despite this message about love, President Trump did not hold back on sharing his thoughts.
The world leader slammed the performance as ‘disgusting’ and called it an ‘an affront to the Greatness of America’.
The president of a country with 40 million Spanish speakers claimed that ‘nobody understands a word this guy is saying’.
No one knew what to expect for this year’s Super Bowl halftime show, which was headlined by Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny. But with plenty of world-class singers to pick for a surprise appearance, his guest star left fans stunned.
Six-time Grammy winner Bad Bunny, real name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, had a lot to live up to going into the all-important show, with previous musicians like Kendrick Lamar, Shakira and Rihanna all blowing away football fans in recent years.
The 31-year-old’s Spanish-only halftime set was, as you’d expect, suffused with his passion for his native Puerto Rico and saw the artist dressed all in white as he navigated a sugarcane field in a performance that swung between carnival and formal wedding.
But as his roughly 15-minute set reached its crescendo, spinning wedding dancers parted to reveal an extremely familiar face in a blue dress, ‘Mother Monster’ herself, Lady Gaga.Bad Bunny joined Gaga for a rendition of her track ‘Die With a Smile’, with the pair briefly dancing together before the rapper launched into his next song.
It’s safe to say that fans were left stunned by the moment, with one writing: « VERY COOL HALFTIME SHOW HAVING LADY GAGA SURPRISE. »
Someone else commented: « Bad Bunny and Gaga? That’s the collab we didn’t know we needed—next up, a joint album? »
The surprise celebrity appearances did not stop there, though they were subtle. As well as briefly singing with legend Ricky Martin, at one point the headliner dropped through the ceiling of a house, only to emerge dancing with a number of well-known faces.That included Cardi B, Jessica Alba, Karol G, Young Miko and Pedro Pascal.
His set ended with the singer switching to English to say ‘God bless America’, before blessing every other country in Latin America, in a poignant finale to a groundbreaking Super Bowl halftime show
The rapper has now made history as the first Spanish-language performer to solo headline the biggest day in America’s sporting calendar. But the decision to make him the featured artist at this year’s halftime show has not been without controversy – something President Donald Trump has even weighed in on.
The president told the New York Post last month that the game was ‘too far’ and he had never heard of Bad Bunny. Trump said: « I’m anti-them. I think it’s a terrible choice. All it does is sow hatred. Terrible. »NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in October: « He’s one of the most popular entertainers in the world.
« That’s what we try to achieve. It’s an important element to the entertainment value. It’s carefully thought through. I would say I’m not sure we’ve ever selected an artist where we didn’t have some blowback or criticism. »
If Bad Bunny was not playing the halftime show to millions around the world, he told the media on Thursday that he would simply be ‘watching the Super Bowl at home’.
