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Courtesy of Apple Music
Bad Bunny is coming! On September 28, during halftime for Sunday Night Football, the NFL and Roc Nation announced that the Debí Tirar Más Fotos musician will headline the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show, which will take place on February 8 at the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Bad Bunny has performed at the Super Bowl once before, previously making a cameo during Jennifer Lopez and Shakira’s Halftime Show in 2020 — but he’ll be the headline performer for the first time ever for the 2026 event. “@badbunnypr is bringing Puerto Rico to the world’s biggest stage,” the official Apple Music account shared on Instagram.
“What I’m feeling goes beyond myself,” the Puerto Rican singer, whose given name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, shared in a statement. “It’s for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown… this is for my people, my culture and our history. Ve y dile a tu abuela, que seremos el HALFTIME SHOW DEL SUPER BOWL.”
The 2025 Halftime Show, which was headlined by Kendrick Lamar, was watched by over 133 million viewers — higher than the viewership of the actual game itself. Fans of the the global superstar are thrilled to see Benito take on one of the world’s biggest stages. But some people are less than excited about the 2026 performer, and took to social media to spout racist backlash, criticizing the musician’s political stance and the fact that most of his music is in Spanish, not English.
Read More: The Real Meaning Behind Bad Bunny’s Most Political Lyrics on DtMf
“Football is an AMERICAN game, we’ve been trying to kick out illegals for YEARS. This will just bring them in,” one xenophobe wrote in the volatile comments section of Bad Bunny’s Instagram collab announcement post with the NFL, Roc Nation, and Apple Music. “Will there be subtitles? Asking for 90% of the country,” wrote another Instagram user.
But for every racist or xenophobic comment on Instagram about Bad Bunny’s global fan base, there were hundreds more praising the decision. “I hope he doesn’t utter a single word of English the entire show! LET’S GO, BAD BUNNY!” commented one fan. “The racism in this comment section is wild. Way too normalized. Bad Bunny is one of the top 3 most famous artists in this damn world. Yall can zip it,” chimed in another. (It’s true: Bad Bunny has been ranked as one of the top three most-streamed artists on Spotify since 2019 and was the most-streamed artist from 2020 to 2022.)
The criticism continued on X, however, with conservative pundits accusing the NFL of “self-destructing” and making “the Super Bowl political,” referencing Ocasio’s previous comments about ICE and President Donald Trump; ICYMI, Bad Bunny chose not to tour in the United States after the release of Debí Tirar Más Fotos because of ongoing ICE raids.
Related: Bad Bunny’s Puerto Rico Residency Is Spotlighting Boricua Fashion Brands and Traditions
“There were many reasons why I didn’t show up in the US, and none of them were out of hate—I’ve performed there many times,” he explained to i-D magazine earlier this month. “All of [the shows] have been successful. All of them have been magnificent. I’ve enjoyed connecting with Latinos who have been living in the U.S.”
“But specifically, for a residency here in Puerto Rico, when we are an unincorporated territory of the U.S.,” Ocasio continued, “People from the U.S. could come here to see the show. Latinos and Puerto Ricans of the United States could also travel here, or to any part of the world. But there was the issue of like, f*cking ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue
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