{"id":2269005,"date":"2026-02-06T01:59:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T01:59:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2269005"},"modified":"2026-02-06T01:59:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T01:59:18","slug":"what-to-expect-from-bad-bunnys-super-bowl-halftime-show-dancing-culture-and-a-side-of-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/what-to-expect-from-bad-bunnys-super-bowl-halftime-show-dancing-culture-and-a-side-of-politics\/","title":{"rendered":"What to expect from Bad Bunny\u2019s Super Bowl halftime show? Dancing, culture and a side of politics"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It\u2019s four days until Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny takes to one of the biggest stages in music \u2014 the NFL Super Bowl halftime show.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bad Bunny, the “King of Latin Trap” and one of the biggest music artists in the world, stayed tight-lipped on Thursday about what fans might be able to expect during the upcoming performance, dodging a question about whether or not he might bring out any musical guests. <\/p>\n

But he did promise a good time.<\/p>\n

“I know that the world is going to be happy this Sunday. And they’re going to have fun, and they’re going to dance,” said the 31-year-old singer, born Benito Antonio Mart\u00ednez Ocasio. <\/p>\n

He urged viewers at a pre-Super Bowl news conference not to worry about anything except practising their dance moves ahead of the big day.<\/p>\n

“I don’t want to give any spoilers. It’s going to be fun,” he said.<\/p>\n

But beyond the music and the dancing, culture war commentary has swirled around the decision to give Bad Bunny the halftime show since the announcement was made in September. <\/p>\n

That rhetoric has stepped up since last weekend\u2019s Grammy Awards, where the singer used the platform to criticize the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the U.S., led in part by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).<\/p>\n

WATCH | Bad Bunny sounds off on Trump’s immigration policy at Grammys:<\/strong><\/p>\n
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Bad Bunny sounds off on Trump\u2019s immigration policy at Grammys<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Puerto Rican musician Bad Bunny was a big winner at this year\u2019s Grammy Awards and used the opportunity to speak out against U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s immigration policies. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

After accepting the Grammy for best m\u00fasica urbana album on Sunday for DeB\u00cd TiRAR M\u00e1S FOToS \u2014 which later made history as the first Spanish-language album to win album of the year \u2014 Bad Bunny started his speech with the words: “Before I say thanks to God, I\u2019m gonna say ICE out.” <\/p>\n

After rousing applause, the singer added: “We\u2019re not savage, we\u2019re not animals, we\u2019re not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans.”<\/p>\n

Increased immigration enforcement in the U.S. resulted in the deaths of two U.S. citizens \u2014 Renee Good<\/u><\/a> and Alex Pretti<\/u><\/a> \u2014 in Minnesota last month.<\/p>\n

While other stars including Billie Eilish and Olivia Dean also used their stage time to either criticize the immigration crackdown or defend immigrants, Bad Bunny\u2019s comments were some of the most direct.<\/p>\n

When asked about the possibility of politics playing a role at halftime on Sunday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he expected Bad Bunny would use the huge platform to bring the country together.<\/p>\n

“Bad Bunny \u2026 is one of the great artists in the world and that\u2019s one of the reasons we chose him. But the other reason is he understood the platform he was on, and that this platform is used to unite people,” Goodell said at a Monday news conference<\/u><\/a>. <\/p>\n

“I think Bad Bunny understands that and I think he\u2019ll have a great performance.”<\/p>\n

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Bad Bunny on the red carpet at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday. (Mario Anzuoni\/Reuters)<\/p><\/div>\n

Benjamin Tausig, a professor at Stony Brook University who studies protest music, says he expects any political statements at the big game to be more subtle than those at the Grammys.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He says the open-ended acceptance speech format of the awards show, where celebrities have a few minutes to say whatever they like in front of an audience of their peers, naturally attracts more political statements.<\/p>\n

The NFL tightly scripts and manages halftime show performances in order to prevent potentially polarizing commentary, Tausig said.<\/p>\n

“At the Super Bowl, [artists] can’t be explicit, but they can be implicit,” he said. “And I bet that Bad Bunny will find some ways to do that.”<\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s performance by Kendrick Lamar is a perfect example<\/u><\/a>, he says. The Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper was “subtle and clever” in his commentary about how the U.S. treats its Black citizens, Tausig said, which allowed him to pull it off.<\/p>\n

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Kendrick Lamar performs at last year’s Super Bowl halftime show. One commentator says Lamar’s implicit political message in the performance worked because it was subtly and artfully done. (Brian Snyder\/Reuters)<\/p><\/div>\n

Politics already in play<\/h2>\n

Whatever happens this weekend, Bad Bunny’s performance has already taken on a political dimension.<\/p>\n

Those on the political right panned the choice<\/u><\/a> to have Bad Bunny perform, with some going after his lack of English songs<\/u><\/a>. Others said he was a “massive Trump hater” and “anti-ICE activist,”<\/a> while the U.S. president himself said the choice was “absolutely ridiculous<\/u><\/a>.”<\/p>\n

Bad Bunny previously criticized Trump\u2019s response to Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico, and seemingly took shots at the president in the music video for his song <\/u>NUEVAYoL<\/u><\/a>, in which a Trump-esque voice can be heard on a radio apologizing to immigrants.<\/p>\n

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This is Bad Bunny.
He was just announced as the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show.
– Massive Trump hater
– Anti-ICE activist
– No songs in English
He even canceled his entire U.S. tour for this reason: \u201cF***ing ICE could be outside my concert. And it\u2019s something that we were\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/11KvuSWnEH<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014bennyjohnson<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The artist also opted for a 30-show residency in Puerto Rico rather than a tour of the U.S. mainland, in part due to fears that “ICE could be outside” his concerts<\/u><\/a> attempting to detain fans.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since Bad Bunny accepted the gig at the Super Bowl, which is being held at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., U.S. secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem told<\/u><\/a> right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson that ICE would be at the game taking part in law enforcement.<\/p>\n

NFL officials said this week that ICE would not, in fact, be one of the federal agencies responsible for security<\/u><\/a> on game day, but local residents reportedly aren\u2019t convinced<\/u><\/a> and remain concerned.<\/p>\n

LISTEN | What does the end of Bad Bunny’s residency mean for Puerto Rico?:<\/strong><\/p>\n
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Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud<\/span>24:59<\/span>What does the end of Bad Bunny’s residency mean for Puerto Rico? And a new Fela Kuti graphic novel<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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In protest, the right-wing advocacy group Turning Point USA is hosting its own “All-American Half-time Show” on Sunday. Headlined by Kid Rock and featuring performances from a handful of country artists, the show is being billed as a celebration of “faith, family and freedom.”<\/p>\n

“[Bad Bunny] said he’s having a dance party, wearing a dress, and singing in Spanish? Cool. We plan to play great songs for folks who love America,” Kid Rock said.<\/u><\/a> <\/p>\n

‘Everything he does’ is political: music critic<\/h2>\n

Beyond the culture war fray, freelance music critic Reanna Cruz says Bad Bunny taking the Super Bowl stage sends a message because of what the artist means to the Latino community.<\/p>\n

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A vendor selling Bad Bunny-themed T-shirts outside a concert by the singer at the Atanasio Girardot Stadium in Medellin, Colombia, on Jan. 23. (Juan David Duque\/Reuters)<\/p><\/div>\n

The superstar is set to make history if he performs the set entirely in Spanish, as expected. He\u2019s sung solely in Spanish (spare a few English words or phrases here and there) across all six of his studio albums \u2014 a rare feat, Cruz says, as many other Spanish-language artists have switched to English in order to appeal to a wider, mainstream audience. <\/p>\n

(If you want to brush up on your Spanish before Sunday, Duolingo has decoded some of the star\u2019s hits with “Bad Bunny 101.”<\/u><\/a>)<\/p>\n

Bad Bunny also incorporates sounds from lesser known Puerto Rican folk genres and sings about issues plaguing his home island, which has made him a symbol for the Latino community, and made his music inherently political, Cruz argues.<\/p>\n

“All of this \u2014 who he is as a person and the ethos that he has around celebrity and supporting his community \u2014 make everything he does political,” Cruz said. “The fact that he has that platform in the first place is decidedly important and a message in its own right.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n