When Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny took the stage as the headliner of the Super Bowl LX halftime show on Feb. 8, 2026, it was a historic moment in pop culture. Although, when announced to be the performer on Sept. 28, 2025, the artist received a lot of backlash.
Most of the criticism seems to be rooting from the conservative side as President Trump has stated his negative opinion on this decision saying it’s a “terrible choice” and conservative commentator Tomi Lahren mentioned that Bad Bunny is “not an American artist” despite the fact that he’s from Puerto Rico which is a U.S. territory. There have also been threats by the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, to have U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) present during the performance.
A few days before the Super Bowl, the singer won Album of the Year at the Grammys. In his acceptance speech he stated, “We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans, and we are Americans.” This statement was directed toward ICE and previewed one of the main messages he conveyed during his halftime performance.
Representing Puerto Rico was a big part of his performance, he gave homage to small details about his culture; sugar cane fields, coco frío, and piraguas, to name a few. However, one of the most important symbols of his homeland was the electrical poles, symbolizing the consistent power outages the island had to face due to Hurricane Maria.
Singer Ricky Martin sang Bad Bunny’s “Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawaii”, which was chosen to encourage his people to have strength and to not be exploited like Hawaii was.
(GMA Network)
Lady Gaga is an inspiration to Bad Bunny and one of his biggest idols, which is one of the reasons for her appearance during the halftime show. She performed a salsa-version of “Die with a Smile” and wore a custom blue dress with a red Flor de Maga (Puerto Rican hibiscus) brooch to honor Puerto Rican culture. The choice to include Lady Gaga was vital to showing support for the LGBTQ2+ community as well. Bad Bunny is a voice for immigrants and Lady Gaga has been a voice for the queer community since the 2010s. Their dance together can be seen as the two struggling groups supporting one another.
(Orlando Sentinel)
It wasn’t just his own homeland Bad Bunny wanted to shine a light on, it was the entirety of the Americas. During the show, he shouted, “God Bless America” before calling out countries in both North and South America. He did this to create unity and to challenge the misconception that “America” refers solely to the United States.
Despite all the hateful posts and comments about being selected as the halftime performer, Bad Bunny centered his performance on love and unity. A billboard behind Bad Bunny while he was performing read, “The only thing more powerful than hate is love”, and his final pose included a football with the words, “Together we are America”.
(ELLE)
Bad Bunny’s halftime performance will likely be remembered not only for its music and guest appearances, but also for its message. He showed that the halftime stage can be more than just a place for entertainment, it can also be a place for unity, culture, and hope. In the end, his performance proved that love, not hate, has the power to bring people together.
