Summary:
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The NFL announced Bad Bunny as the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show headliner, sparking controversy and praise.
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The backlash intensified after a senior Trump adviser suggested ICE agents would target undocumented immigrants at the game.
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Bad Bunny’s selection divided opinions, with some applauding the cultural inclusion and others criticizing the political undertones.
The NFL just announced that Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny will headline the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show in 2026. Within minutes, the internet erupted. For his fans, it was a victory lap for one of the biggest artists on the planet. For MAGA-aligned conservatives, it was another sign of America’s culture war playing out on football’s biggest stage.
The backlash escalated after Corey Lewandowski, a senior Trump adviser, said ICE agents “will be” at the game to target undocumented immigrants. His exact words:
“There is nowhere you can provide safe haven to people who are in this country illegally. Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else. We will find you and apprehend you and put you in a detention facility and deport you.”
The White House quickly shot that down, saying there is “no tangible plan” for ICE to be at the event. Still, the remark spread like wildfire across social media, amplifying tensions around the performance.
Right-wing commentators framed the NFL’s choice as un-American, pointing to Bad Bunny’s Spanish-language music, gender-fluid style, and past criticisms of immigration enforcement. Their posts flooded X:
This is Bad Bunny.
He was just announced as the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show.
– Massive Trump hater
– Anti-ICE activist
– No songs in EnglishHe even canceled his entire U.S. tour for this reason: “F***ing ICE could be outside my concert. And it’s something that we were… pic.twitter.com/11KvuSWnEH
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) September 29, 2025
The NFL chose Bad Bunny to perform the Super Bowl halftime show despite the fact that he recently said he wouldn’t perform in the continental United States again because ICE is deporting illegal aliens.
pic.twitter.com/ZTGoYCLUrj— Greg Price (@greg_price11) September 29, 2025
The @NFL just picked Bad Bunny for the Super Bowl halftime show.
This is a rapper with a catalog of vulgar lyrics in Spanish and English — including calling a president a “mamabicho” (translation: vile insult). pic.twitter.com/Q867uKwdSU
— Trish Regan (@trish_regan) September 29, 2025
Roger Goodell and the @NFL just decided to make the Super Bowl political by picking Bad Bunny as the 2026 Super Bowl music act.
The guy literally says he isn’t touring the US because of Trump’s ICE raids and just released a video mocking President Trump.
Also, most of his songs… pic.twitter.com/s2KYRzev4b
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) September 29, 2025
Former racecar driver Danica Patrick slams Bad Bunny as the Super Bowl 2026 halftime headliner:
“No songs in English should not be allowed at one of America’s highest rated television events of the year… not just for sports.” pic.twitter.com/7l3sTw1nGn
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) October 2, 2025
Reddit lit up as well, with threads like r/Music and r/popheads cataloging mixed reactions, some calling out xenophobia, others questioning the NFL’s decision.
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Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, is one of the most-streamed artists in the world, a three-time Grammy winner, and a cultural force who’s blurred lines of language, gender, and politics.
Earlier this year, he explained why he left the U.S. off his 2025–26 tour, saying he worried “f—ing ICE could be outside [my concert],” a remark covered by Variety. That comment alone made him a target for conservative critics.
The NFL has not wavered. The league said Bad Bunny’s show will celebrate “his people, his culture, and history.”
