Puerto Rican Rapper, Bad Bunny, will be this year’s Super Bowl halftime performer. When announced by the NFL on Sep. 28, 2025 people seemed to have mixed reactions. Part of me at the time did not blame them. But I soon realized the people who didn’t want him to perform had different reasons than I did.
For me, it came from him primarily singing and producing Spanish and Latin music. By this, I mean he will most likely be performing at the Super Bowl predominantly in Spanish. And unfortunately, I have yet to become bilingual.
As weeks have gone by, this announcement by the NFL has turned political. Many on the Republican/Conservative side believe this is un-American. And many on the Democratic/Liberal side think this shows inclusivity and diversity.
This has sparked a debate online. Many argue that Puerto Rico is not part of the United States and that is why he should not be allowed to perform for the halftime show. Along with arguing that the NFL should have chosen a performer that will sing in English. Some have also brought up the point that he has spoken out against Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) recent raids.
But these points are not strong reasons on why Bad Bunny should not perform for the Super Bowl halftime show. This is particularly true because Puerto Rico is a United States territory; it is just self-governed. Also, Spanish is the second major language spoken in the United States. And many other celebrities and other US citizens have spoken out against ICE as well due to the recent raids they have conducted.
This debate has caused prominent non-profit organization Turning Point USA to announce that they will be hosting their own halftime show during Bad Bunny’s performance at the Super Bowl. They announced this on Oct. 10, 2024 but have yet to release their performers for their halftime show. There has been speculation of who some of the prominent performers will be, but nothing has been officially released yet.
I am not an avid listener or a person who particularly enjoys Bad Bunny’s music. But I do not believe that just because I don’t enjoy or listen to his music, he shouldn’t be performing at the Super Bowl.
One thing that needs to be acknowledged is that Bad Bunny has been able to prove his talent on Spotify, Apple Music, and other music streaming platforms. He is ranked on Spotify as the most-streamed male artist globally and was named Apple Music’s global artist of the year in 2022. Along with being the first artist that primarily sings in spanish to top the Billboard 200. His talent has won him three Grammys, ten Billboard music awards, and six American Music awards.
In 2019, Maroon 5, Travis Scott and Big Boi performed at the Super Bowl halftime show. I was not a big fan of those performers because I didn’t really listen to them unless they were on the radio. But I did still watch the Super Bowl and their halftime performance because, at the end of the day, it was just a performance. There have been many other performers chosen for the halftime show that I have also not been a big fan of either.
Long story short, not everyone is going to be pleased with the performers the NFL chooses for the halftime show and that is normal. I think as Americans we need to work on being able to disagree with one another without making it political or making it seem like such an injustice.
