It’s time for certain corners of America — the pearl-clutching, country-club set — to start brushing up on their Spanish. The NFL tapped Puerto Rican megastar Bad Bunny to command the Super Bowl Halftime Show, the biggest stage in American entertainment this February.
Jay-Z delivered the confirmation to Benito, who was in the middle of a workout.
"I remember that after the call, I just did like a hundred pull-ups," said Benito, who called into Apple Music's Halftime Headliner Special.
Cue the outrage. Conservative commentators have already logged on to melt down. Benny Johnson, professional culture warrior and host of The Benny Show, took to X to lament that the NFL is “self-destructing,” apparently because Benito’s catalog isn’t sung in English and he’s made no secret of his politics. Another activist declared the booking a “divisive, political ploy.”
The complaints range from predictable (he’s anti-Trump) to absurd (one user claimed they’d rather undergo surgery without anesthesia than watch him perform). The subtext is clear: for some conservatives, Spanish-language music headlining the Super Bowl feels like a hostile takeover. For everyone else, it feels like progress.
Yes, Bad Bunny once said he wouldn’t tour the U.S. again, citing ICE’s treatment of his fans. But the Halftime Show is different — a global platform where artists make statements simply by showing up. Pulitzer Prize winner Kendrick Lamar reminded President 47 that hip-hop sits at the cultural center of America (He also had smoke for a Canadian while dressed impeccably.). Bad Bunny’s turn will say just as much: Latinos and Hispanics aren’t just part of the audience. They are America, too.