On September 28th, it was announced that Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny would be the Super Bowl LX Halftime Show performer. This will be the first time a male Latin artist has been the headlining singer of the show, as well as the first time the show will be sung entirely in Spanish. Bad Bunny even joked in his recent SNL monologue that the audience “has 4 months” to learn Spanish before the Super Bowl.
What was originally a huge achievement for the artist and his community has quickly turned into a huge political firestorm. Conservative and far-right spaces on the internet criticized the pick for the halftime show as “un-American,” as Bad Bunny is openly anti-Trump and anti-ICE. Others are insulted that the show will be entirely in Spanish, saying that this will alienate the majority of Super Bowl watchers. Trump and his administration have criticized the selection several times (shocker). Turning Point USA is even creating alternative halftime show programming, called the “All-American Halftime Show.” On the Turning Point website, users can vote for which music genres they want to hear in the show, with one option reading “Anything in English.”
First of all, Bad Bunny is quite literally an American citizen, as Puerto Ricans are granted American citizenship at birth. There is nothing unpatriotic or un-American about him performing, despite what many critics have claimed. Even if he wasn’t a citizen, there have been plenty of iconic, foreign-born artists who have performed at the Super Bowl. Paul McCartney, Shakira, Rihanna, and The Rolling Stones are a few artists that come to mind. It makes no sense that his citizenship status is suddenly a problem, unless the real problem is the issues he stands for.
This is not even the first time Bad Bunny has been in a halftime show. He was a guest performer in the 2020 halftime show, when Jennifer Lopez and Shakira headlined the show. My question is, where was the controversy back then? It just shows how divided our country has become in a few short years. Any form of diversity is seen as “woke” or “the enemy.”
Another common halftime show comment I’ve seen is, “I’ve never even heard of Bad Bunny.” I understand that not everyone has the same taste in music, but that doesn’t make him unpopular. Bad Bunny is one of the most globally streamed artists in the world, with over 80 million listeners on Spotify. Just because someone hasn’t heard of an artist doesn’t mean they are obscure or unpopular. Many of these people also complain that they “won’t understand” the halftime show, or that it’s “not meant for them.” What they forget is that Spanish is the second most spoken language in America. If Spanish-speakers have sat through dozens of halftime shows sung in English, I think we English-speakers can sit through 15 minutes of Spanish.
My final message to people being hateful about Bad Bunny’s halftime performance is that hopefully you can see past your ignorance and use this opportunity to broaden your musical and cultural horizons.
Sources: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/bad-bunny-super-bowl-controversy-turning-point-trump-1235443824/