Bad Bunny Super Bowl show sparks anti-American backlash

Unhealthy Bunny’s halftime present on the Tremendous Bowl is formally behind us. Comfortable. What began with hype and outrage, after which extra outrage, ended with a present most charitably described as polarizing and complicated for many who weren’t already Unhealthy Bunny followers. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell promised that Unhealthy Bunny would use the present to unite the world “in a extremely artistic and enjoyable means.” It seems he was proper. Many of the nation, aside from just a few Democrats like California Governor Gavin Newsom, was united in its distaste for a present narrowly tailor-made to a distinct segment viewers, regardless of being billed as inclusive and respectful of America.

The pre-show hype surrounding Unhealthy Bunny’s invitation to carry out at this 12 months’s Tremendous Bowl began together with his SNL demand that viewers “be taught Spanish.” He walked again the pre-Tremendous Bowl press convention, however the sentiment finally proved to be true.

Then there was the web rumor that Unhealthy Bunny would put on a costume and honor Hispanic LGBTQ+ characters throughout his halftime efficiency. That turned out to be a hoax.

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You have to hand it to Unhealthy Bunny and his advertising and marketing group. Within the weeks main as much as the Tremendous Bowl, they made certain to seize individuals’s consideration, whether or not they have been optimistic or not.

Unhealthy Bunny performs throughout halftime of the NFL Tremendous Bowl 60 soccer recreation between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on February 8, 2026. (AP Photograph/Morry Gash)

The Tremendous Bowl halftime present was a shortened model of the present he carried out throughout his residency in Puerto Rico. With America watching, Unhealthy Bunny began strolling by way of a sugar cane subject. He handed by a number of scenes typical of Puerto Rico when he opened with “Tití Me Preguntó (“Aunt Requested Me”)”, corresponding to a coconut water stand and a domino desk. When he arrived at a home, viewers have been handled to a mixture of a few of his different hits earlier than shifting on to a tribute to ’90s and ’00s reggaeton and the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it picture of two guys grinding.

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If a part of the present had been in English, we might have heard a largely optimistic message from Unhealthy Bunny: “My identify is Benito Martinez Ocasio. And if I’m right here as we speak at Tremendous Bowl LX, it’s as a result of I’ve by no means, ever stopped believing in myself. It’s a must to imagine in your self too. You might be value greater than you assume. Belief me.”

Unhealthy Bunny performs throughout halftime of the NFL Tremendous Bowl 60 soccer recreation between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, February 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, California. (AP Photograph/Matt Slocum)

Then we moved on to the present’s spotlight: Woman Gaga joined the salsa band in a model of “Die With a Smile” on a stage that resembled Previous San Juan’s El Morro Fort — the one second when maybe a majority of these in attendance at Levi Stadium might sing alongside.

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However wait, there’s extra. This segues into Unhealthy Bunny’s “Baile Inolvidable (Unforgettable Dance)”, “Nueva Yol (New York)” and a symbolic handover of his Grammy.

Unhealthy Bunny performs throughout halftime of the NFL Tremendous Bowl 60 soccer recreation between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, February 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, California. (AP Photograph/Charlie Riedel)

To this point, there was nothing within the present that could possibly be perceived as overtly anti-American. That modified when Ricky Martin began singing the refrain of “Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawaii (What Occurred to Hawaii)”, which interprets to:

They need to take the rivers and the seashores from me They need to take my neighborhood and grandma to go away No, do not let go of the flag and do not forget the le lo lai (track). I do not need them to need to take care of what occurred to Hawaii with you

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“What occurred to Hawaii” is that it was admitted to the Union because the fiftieth state. Unhealthy Bunny, who sings beneath the auspices of a file label based by a former Venezuelan intelligence officer, is claimed to favor Puerto Rico seceding from the US to grow to be an unbiased nation – an possibility solely 12% of the island’s voters selected in 2024. The report exhibits that Unhealthy Bunny additionally supported the pro-independence, Chávez- and Castro-sympathizing candidate for governor of Puerto Rico.

Unhealthy Bunny performs throughout halftime of the NFL Tremendous Bowl 60 soccer recreation between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on February 8, 2026. (AP Photograph/Julio Cortez)

The Grammy-winning artist’s halftime present ended with a picture of energy outages, with the caption “Debí Tirar Más Fotos and his Grammy quote, “The one factor extra highly effective than hate is love,” flashing on the large display screen.

Unhealthy Bunny walked off the sphere with a flag-bearing entourage in tow. His cry of “God Bless America!” truly meant “America, as in Americanot the US. A grand finale that was stilted, complicated, and subtly however passive-aggressively anti-American.

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This begs the query: why invite Unhealthy Bunny to do the present within the first place? May the NFL make a enterprise case for utilizing him as a halftime performer? Sure. With the competitors increasing to Latin America and different markets, Unhealthy Bunny is smart. For instance, they each share Mexico as their largest abroad market. It was a no brainer.

Unhealthy Bunny and Woman Gaga are on the sphere throughout the Tremendous Bowl LX halftime present between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on February 8, 2026. (AP Photograph/Brynn Anderson)

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Alternatively, this was a transparent failed examine. The halftime present was fastidiously constructed to mainstream two equally poisonous concepts for viewers in the US: first, the thought of ​​Puerto Rico as a separate nation from the US. Second, the thought of ​​Latino identification as a nation inside a nation, a everlasting immigrant standing separate from the American mainstream.

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As an alternative of uniting the world “in a extremely artistic and enjoyable means,” Unhealthy Bunny delivered a really divisive present that centered on identification politics. The ultimate product fell far in need of Goodell’s hype and left a bitter style within the mouths of hundreds of thousands of viewers.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell speaks throughout his sales space on the NFL press convention on Monday, February 2, 2026, in San Jose, California, previous to the Tremendous Bowl 60 soccer recreation between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. (AP Photograph/Matt York)

One shudders to assume what the league has in thoughts subsequent 12 months in the event that they insist on abandoning their core viewers in pursuit of worldwide growth.