It appears that Bad Bunny will remain the 2026 Super Bowl headliner, at least for now. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday stood by his choice, defending the Puerto Rican artist amid severe criticism from MAGA commentators and President Donald Trump himself.
Speaking after the league’s annual autumn meeting in New York, Goodell said he has no plans to replace Bad Bunny as the halftime performer.
“He’s one of the leading and most popular entertainers in the world,” Goodell said of the decision.”That’s what we try to achieve. It’s an important stage for us. It’s carefully thought through.”
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“I’m not sure we’ve ever selected an artist where we didn’t have some blowback or criticism. It’s pretty hard to do when you have literally hundreds of millions of people that are watching,” the commissioner added.
Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, has previously criticised Trump’s policies. He decided to avoid shows in the mainland US, citing concerns about the mass deportation of Latinos. Super Bowl LX will be held Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
In an interview, Trump said he had ‘never heard’ of Bad Bunny.
“I don’t know who he is. I don’t know why they’re doing it. It’s, like, crazy. And then they blame it on some promoter they hired to pick up entertainment. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous,” he told Newsmax.
Other conservative critics have joined the pile-on.
“Is the @NFL incapable of reading the room?” Sebastian Gorka, Trump’s Senior Director for Counter Terrorism, posted on X last month shortly after the announcement.
Former racing driver turned right-wing commentator Danica Patrick said separately on X: “No songs in English should not be allowed at one of America’s highest rated television events of the year.”
Bad Bunny has said his halftime act was “for my people, my culture, and our history.”
Shakira shows support for Bad Bunny
Meanwhile, Shakira said she is all for a Bad Bunny Super Bowl show. “I remember when we did ours that even having part of our set in Spanish was a bold move,” she told Variety. “Acceptance as part of the mainstream has come so far from when I started. I hope and like to think that all the times my music was met with resistance or puzzlement from the English-speaking world before it was embraced helped forge the path to where we are now.”
“And I’m so proud that Bad Bunny, who represents not only Latin culture but also how important Spanish-language music has become on a global scale and how universal it has become, is getting to perform on the biggest stage in the world. It’s the perfect moment for a performance like this.”
