Introduction
Bad Bunny’s performance at the 2026 Superbowl LX halftime left many Americans divided, some enraged at having a halftime solely in Spanish, and while others argued that it is an inclusive way of bringing other cultures to American sports culture.
Bad Bunny's Background
Bad Bunny (Benito Antonio Martines Ocasio) is a 31 year old Puerto Rican artist who has released 12 albums, and had hits like “DTMF” , “Safaera” , “Titi me Pregunto” , and “Monaco”. Bad Bunny was born on March 10, 1994 in Bayamon Puerto Rico. Bad Bunny calls himself Bad Bunny because there is an old picture of him in a bunny suit where he looked really mad, so he adopted the name, Bad Bunny. Bad Bunny has been making music for over a decade, earning 6 Grammy Awards, and 17 Latin Grammy Awards.
Bad Bunny's halftime performance
While Bad Bunny’s music appeals to many listeners, the vulgar and explicit nature of his songs contradicts the family friendly atmosphere of the Superbowl. Furthermore, his backup dancers were being unprofessional and unsuitable for children because they were grinding on each other during the performance. “She sucks my lollypop, she gets on her knees, hey How dare you, mami, to come without panties?” according to the translation at genius.com. There are mentions and drugs, having many girlfriends at one time–cheating, and vulgar depictions of sex. Although there are a lot of adults that watch the Superbowl, it is supposed to be a family-friendly event. There are children that watch the event every year, and most artists since 2004 have censored their music to keep it family-friendly and enjoyable for all. Even if a person cannot understand the lyrics, it does not make it okay to add things like this to a family event. Especially because there are those that do understand what he is saying, child and adult alike.
Student Opinion:
Sophomore, Erika Lopez, who watched the Bad Bunny halftime show, says, “It was representing a lot of Hispanic people and a lot of different countries. I feel like some people thought that it was bad, but it's because they just don't understand his message” During the performance some people think that his lyrics and his dancing were vulgar, and while many agree with this being unacceptable behavior, some think there was a deeper meaning and cultural message. During his performance, Bad Bunny sang “is this what you wanted’ in English and then the camera panned over to Lady Gaga. “I feel like that was a good message. Because I feel like it showed "oh, is this what you wanted a white woman, singing.” Lopez said. I believe that it was important for Bad Bunny to perform and have him send a cultural message to others who are immigrants in the country or have origins out of America that they are all welcome here and our histories are intertwined. However, I still believe that there were better ways of showing this connection. Being Puerto Rican, and performing at the halftime with his native language makes a lot of young kids look up to him. His songs were highly vulgar and held adult content. They shouldn't have been sung with how many kids there were watching. I think that although it was culturally important and intriguing, there were better songs or better lyrics he could have used to show his culture.
Turning Point USA and Kid Rock Halftime
There was an alternative halftime that happened during the Bad Bunny halftime. Turning Point USA (TPUSA) and Kid Rock hosted their own conservative halftime show called “All-American” with singers such as Kid Rock himself, Paradigm, Abbie Barrett, and several others. This halftime was a way of bringing Americans together and showing that we are All American. Using well known artists and making the performance about faith and family, and making sure everyone understood the lyrics. During the TPUSA halftime Kid Rock was singing one of his early songs, “Cool, Daddy Cool” from the hit movie Osmosis Jones. This song was performed in the movie by a fictional band Kidney Rock. Kid Rock, when he wrote this song, was very young around 18-19 years old. He was giving people a look back into when he was Kid Rock instead of his new self, Ki Country. He was giving those original fans who knew him for his rock music, one of his rock songs.
Student Opinion
Senior Emily Santoro, who watched the TPUSA Kid Rock halftime show, said “Turning Point USA really showed us that everyone matters and that no matter your beliefs you should be able to enjoy music that you can understand and sing too.” I agree with Santoro’s assessment because most parents don’t like when kids listen to vulgar and explicit songs. Most parents don’t allow their kids to listen to those songs. Whether it’s spoken in English or not, he has young kids that look up to him and he shouldn’t be explicit at a show where there are young impressionable kids watching. “The NFL and Bad Bunny could have done things very differently. I don't think that it was ok that he was saying this stuff and that kids were able to understand it,” Santoro said. I agree with this assessment because whether something is spoken in a language they understand or not, there is no reason for explicit sayings at the superbowl. There are many artists in the past who have censored their songs for the young fans that were watching, and the fact that Bad Bunny did not do this shows how much he really did not care.
Comparison of Kid Rock and Bad Bunny Halftime
Even though Kid Rock’s song sparked a lot of controversy around the country after he sang this song. The controversial lyric was, “I like 'em underage, see” which now is bad, but he obviously did not mean the lyric he sang. He was giving his original rock fans a look back into his music before he started to sing country. People have been trying to say that this one lyric is worse than Bad Bunny’s whole song. I think that Bad Bunny’s song was worse because he sang it at an event that had a long history of being family friendly. There were 12.6 million people that had to listen to his vulgar songs. While there weren’t that many people watching the Kid Rock halftime, and it was something that was not a tradition. I think that Bad Bunny’s whole performance was way worse than Kid Rock’s one lyric in his song.
More Information
Artists in the past, such as Shakira and Jennifer Lopez in Superbowl LIV, have made their performances bilingual. They had their performances half in English and half in Spanish, to show their American and Puerto Rican roots according to pastemagazine.com. I feel as though this would have been a better option for Bad Bunny to do during his halftime. I also think that he should have censored his lyrics because the Superbowl is a family event, and there are young kids who watch this with their families. Most artists censor their music to keep the family friendliness for all, whether others can understand the language or not. When you compare Shakira and Jennifer Lopez’s halftime to Bad Bunny’s halftime, you see just how much more mature and family friendly theirs was. THey had family-friendly lyrics, no vulgar dancing, and intertwined their culture into American culture through their music. They were able to perform in not just Spanish but English as well. They were able to bring together Colombian culture, Puerto Rican culture, and American culture. When the NFL picked Bad Bunny for the halftime performance there were many people who were annoyed and upset with the choice. Bad Bunny took it upon himself to post, “you have four months to learn Spanish” before his performance, according to nypost.com. However, shortly after he made this post, he posted that he just wanted everyone to have fun and enjoy his halftime,that nobody had to learn Spanish, just to dance, according to variety.com. If he had started with this statement instead of being rude towards those who didn’t like that he was picked for the halftime, I believe that many other people would have been more agreeable with him performing. Conservative Congressmen Randy FIne (Florida), Andy Ogles (Tennessee), and Mark Alford (Missouri), sent out posts saying that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC); must look into Bad Bunny’s halftime. In his letter Ogles, wrote, “I write to request that you open a formal congressional inquiry, consistent with the Committee’s jurisdiction over broadcast regulation and FCC oversight, into the National Football League (NFL) and NBCUniversal regarding their prior knowledge, review, and approval of explicit and indecent content broadcast during the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show on February 8, 2026.” He added that there was a lot of sexual content, and a lot of vulgar lyrics and actions that were performed on stage. You can read the letter on the representative's office website, https://ogles.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/ogles.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/letter-e-c-bad-bunny.pdf .
Bad Bunny and the National Anthem
Even though Bad Bunny said “God Bless America” at the end of his performance, he wasn’t showing the true American spirit throughout his show. In the beginning of the Superbowl, during the National Anthem, sung by Charlie Puth, Bad Bunny neither stood, or put his right hand over his heart. He may be Puerto Rican, and he may not like the country or the state it’s in right now, but the Superbowl is rooted within American culture. Him not standing up was showing just how much he really shouldn't have been picked to perform. He was disrespecting those in America, and not setting a good example for young kids who look up to him.
Conclusion
Although Bad Bunny got investigated he did not receive any charges. Many, including those Congressmen, are very mad about this. There was so much vulgar and adult content in this halftime that he should have been investigated and fined for what was allowed to air across the nation. Through all of the explicit lyrics and vulgar dancing, he didn't represent America in his halftime, and didn't represent the culture of America while intertwining it with Puerto Rican Culture. I think it is very important that we show and promote other cultures, but there were many better ways to do so. Rather than dancing vulgarly and singing explicitly, Bad Bunny could have included English and Spanish, or less vulgar lyrics, to intertwine American and Puerto Rican culture together. Superbowl LX will remain in history as one of the most controversial halftime shows, while also being the most inclusive of Puerto Rican culture. However, in my opinion, this will go down as one of the worst halftime performances.