A little over a week ago, in between two mediocre halves of Super Bowl football, artist Bad Bunny took the field in the Super Bowl halftime show. This wasn’t his first time appearing in the Super Bowl — he took the stage with Shakira in the 2020 show.
In contrast to many of the recent past halftime shows, Bad Bunny’s was bright, full of color and moved around the field. It was visually interesting with many different characters, from the girls at the nail salon to the couple getting married. The ensemble wore regular clothes rather than costumes. The movement of the show worked intentionally with the camera angles, showing how the show has shifted to being made for broadcast, rather than performed for the audience in the stadium.
Bad Bunny sang entirely in Spanish, as all of his songs are in Spanish. Lady Gaga emerged for a salsa-fied rendition of her song ‘Die with a Smile’, sung in English.
The one time Bad Bunny did use English was at the end of his performance. He shouted, “God bless America”, then named every country in the Americas as dancers carried flags from each of the countries. Behind the group on the screen was the message, “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”
Bad Bunny’s halftime show received harsh criticism from some, including President Trump, media commentator and personality Megyn Kelly and some House Republicans who called for an investigation for indecency.
Why would a show that ended on a unifying message create so much division?
First, the choice to have a Spanish-speaking singer caused controversy even when it was first announced in September 2025. Bad Bunny was the #1 artist in the world in 2025, as well as 2020-2022, which makes it clear why the NFL was interested in having him perform for the audience that would tune in.
Second, the political climate of the world from the past year, and especially the past two months, has escalated people’s feelings toward a Spanish speaker on such a large platform. This time when the issues in the news often involve non-Americans and Hispanic people happened to coincide with a Hispanic man on the biggest stage in America.
Third, prior to the Super Bowl, Turning Point USA, the organization founded by the late Charlie Kirk, announced it would broadcast an alternate “All-American Halftime Show”, focusing on values of faith, family and freedom. The fact that there was an alternative option created a choice, thereby creating more division between the two options of shows to watch. Additionally, an ‘All-American’ show carries the implication that the alternative is not American, although Bad Bunny is an American citizen from the U.S. territory Puerto Rico.
Lastly, the influential figures that spoke out expressing their opinions have further urged people to pick a side, one way or the other. President Trump, often a polarizing and divisive figure, posted in a tirade on Truth Social the show was “an affront to the Greatness of America” and “a “slap in the face” to our Country.”
Megyn Kelly said to Piers Morgan on his Youtube show that the halftime show should always be performed by an English speaker.
“The halftime show and everything around it needs to stay quintessentially American,” she said. “Not Spanish, not Muslim, not anything other than good old-fashioned American apple pie.”
For the five or six days leading up to the Super Bowl, I listened to a few of the most popular Bad Bunny songs each day while I brushed my teeth. I barely knew the songs at all, and I thoroughly enjoyed the show. I watched the show next to my roommate and her boyfriend, who had never heard Bad Bunny before that Sunday night, and they equally enjoyed it.
Perhaps the issues that have turned this entertainment piece into a political debate are rooted more in a fear of enjoying or engaging other cultures than truly wanting to be able to understand the words to the songs.
Perhaps we need to step back, stop making everything so political, and enjoy the music and the visuals and the cultural symbolism that Bad Bunny created to entertain an audience in the middle of a boring football game.
News Editor
Nice to see support for the perverse lyrics and lifestyle of this individual. Did you stop to think about what his “ love” message really meant? Did you bother, while engrossed in the arduous task of brushing your teeth, to look up the translation of the lyrics? I hope you would not be so supportive with lyrics about genitalia and even anal sex. This article is a disappointment to an old grad.