A dude named Benito Antonio Mart\u00ednez Ocasio has a lot of people big mad this week!\u00a0 Don\u2019t know who he is?\u00a0 Well, until a few days ago neither did 99% of the people complaining about him. He\u2019s known more commonly as Bad Bunny, and 97% of the people his existence angers hadn\u2019t heard that name either.\u00a0Bad Bunny has been chosen to perform the NFL Super Bowl halftime show for 2026. He\u2019s a Latin rapper\/artist and one of the biggest musical artists in the world right now.<\/p>\n
I had actually heard of Bad Bunny before, because he has appeared on WWE programs and while no one admits watching wrestling, I do.\u00a0 Well, I do enough to know who Bad Bunny is. I felt cool being in the minority of people my age who knew him, but the kid quickly corrected me on my \u201ccool\u201d assertion.<\/p>\n
Bad Bunny performs live during his “No Me Quiero Ir de Aqui\u0301” residency in in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 20, 2025.<\/p>\n
So, what\u2019s the problem?\u00a0 It\u2019s hard to weed through all the hysteria about this choice for the big show to get one answer.\u00a0I\u2019ve heard complaints about the fact most of his music is in Spanish; that he is a \u201ccross dresser\u201d that he\u2019s \u201cun-American\u201d; that a “real American\u201d like Kid Rock would\u2019ve been better; that he doesn\u2019t like President Trump, etc.<\/p>\n
Who cares that most of his music is in Spanish?\u00a0He\u2019s a global music star and the Super Bowl is a global performance with a global viewership.\u00a0Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world, behind Chinese.\u00a0 But, we’re not allowed to be entertained\u00a0 in a foreign language now?\u00a0Should we be demanding that Netflix and Hulu and other steaming services remove all foreign language films from their platforms? Maybe the Trump administration should get involved in wiping foreign language from our entertainment.\u00a0He can start real close. The Washington National Opera, which performs at the Kennedy Center, which is run by Donald Trump, is performing \u201cAida\u201d later this month followed by \u201cThe Marriage of Figaro\u201d in November, and they are both performed in Italian.\u00a0That\u2019s the “National Opera\u201d! Or, do we not have a problem with foreign language in art, just with one particular foreign language? Hmmmm.<\/p>\n
How\u2019s Bad Bunny \u201cun-American\u201d? For those who think you should have to be an American to perform the halftime show (I’ll get to the obvious in a minute), did you have a problem when Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Coldplay, The Who or U2 performed at the Super Bowl?\u00a0 More importantly, Bad Bunny is Puerto Rican. He is quite literally American.\u00a0He carries an American passport.\u00a0To the people sharing a demand that when Bad Bunny takes the stage, ICE should immediately take him into custody and deport him … to where? His homeland of America?<\/p>\n
I chuckle every complaint I see about the NFL choosing a guy who dresses the way he does.\u00a0They call him a cross-dresser and mock his flamboyancy.\u00a0These are costumes, folks. He\u2019s a showman.\u00a0The outfits and makeup and glitter etc. are part of his show on and off stage. What did you think of Prince or Steven Tyler back in the day? Or, actually, every member of every ’80s hair band? <\/p>\n
As for the \u201cdoesn\u2019t like Trump\u201d stuff? Ya, that seems true.\u00a0 He was critical of him in his first term for the federal response to a hurricane that hit Puerto Rico and he has been critical of current immigration policy.\u00a0What does that have to do with him performing at the Super Bowl? Is this the litmus test now? You have to support whatever political party is in office in order to get this gig?\u00a0 When a Democrat has the Oval again, will the sentiment be the same?<\/p>\n
Music is an art form of many colors and it should never be treated as just red or blue. Why are we making enjoying music political?\u00a0Why are we making everything so political?<\/p>\n
Mind you, these aren\u2019t just random keyboard warriors jumping on this. We\u2019re talking Glenn Beck, who somehow tied this choice to Charlie Kirk\u2019s memorial and some lady with 1.4 million followers who declared \u201cBad Bunny\u201d was a \u201ccommunist\u201d who \u201csupports dismantling our Constitution.\u201d (Huh?) This has become such a big deal Rolling Stone has done a piece<\/a> on it and network news has covered it.<\/p>\n The image of Kid Rock with Trump has been shared countless times noting he would a better choice.\u00a0Why?\u00a0Because he supports Trump? See my statement above.\u00a0The reality is, I probably would prefer Kid Rock. I like his music, I’d probably sing along to “all summer long.”<\/p>\n But I am not the halftime show’s target audience, politics or no politics.\u00a0Sorry Gen Xers and above, our time has passed for such things.\u00a0We had a pretty good run with it.\u00a0Michael Jackson is my all-time favorite, with Lady Gaga a close second.<\/p>\n If you don’t want to watch the game, don\u2019t. If you don\u2019t want to watch halftime, don\u2019t. But calls for a boycott of advertisers, etc. because he dresses wildly, sings Spanish and speaks out against his government? I urge you to remember, that that last point, makes him as American as apple pie \u2026 or limber de coco.<\/p>\n