The 2026 Super Bowl will take place on February 8, and the halftime performer has the media up in arms.
Artist “Bad Bunny” is a rapper, singer, and songwriter from Puerto Rico and is crowned the “King of Latin Trap.” He has over 80 million monthly listeners on Spotify alone, and is considered one of the best Latin rappers of all time.
He is credited with raising the genre of Spanish rap into mainstream media and global stardom, ultimately making him the perfect candidate for this year’s theme of diversity, inclusion, and cultural representation.
This is evident in the new trailer for the performance featuring the song, “BAILE INVOLIDABLE,” a song describing an “unforgettable dance,” evoking feelings of love, longing, and nostalgia. These themes are presented throughout the Super Bowl trailer with people of all races, genders, ages, and backgrounds joining together in dance. This symbolizes the connection between people without borders, the ability to connect through song and dance rather than language.
News stations and social media platforms have protested this decision and called into question the importance of platforming an “American” artist.
Specifically, in reference to the role that ICE will play at the upcoming Super Bowl, the Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem stated, “We’ll be all over the place.” Similarly, Noem stated that the event should be attended by law-abiding Americans who “love this country,” also stating that the NFL “sucks” and “we’ll win.”
Most famously, the current president, Donald J. Trump, during an interview on Newsmax with Greg Kelly on October 7, 2025, made comments regarding Bad Bunny and his upcoming Super Bowl halftime performance. Trump stated, “The NFL just chose the Bad Bunny rabbit or whatever his name is. This guy who hates ICE, he doesn’t like you. He accuses everything he doesn’t like of racism.”
Trump then doubled down on his point and, in response to Kelly’s question, asking if we should protest the Super Bowl Trump stated, “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.”
These statements have enraged fans and sparked arguments over Trump’s blatant racism against Bad Bunny.
Some contrarians of the decision have questioned Bad Bunny’s citizenship, questioning his legitimacy as a legal United States citizen. These questions have sparked viral moments, such as Tomi Lahren’s comments claiming that Bad Bunny is not an American artist.
Additionally, the pregame lineup has led fans to suspect an unspoken Super Bowl message of defiance and protest, with the popular punk rock band “Green Day” slotted to perform. The band’s blatant push back of politics as an historically “punk” band, specifically, current president Donald Trump, leaving Trump’s supporters up in arms. Famously, the band has changed their lyrics of the hit song “American Idiot,” to directly criticize the current administration through swapping lyrics from the original “redneck agenda” to “MAGA agenda” or “Elon Agenda.”
Green Day Member, Billie Joe Armstrong, told the crowd of their first show of 2026 “We stand up for our brothers in Minnesota” in reference to the recent shooting of Renee Good and the statement by Minneapolis mayor, Jacob Frey, “ICE, get the f*** out of Minneapolis.”
It has been speculated that these decisions were an indirect protest from the NFL to the push-back from the decision of the halftime headliner, subtly doubling down on their decision backing with supporting artists.
