This is America.
THE NFL blocked my ability to embed the video. Use the link above.
Jon Stewart REALLY explains well the TOTAL IDIOCY of the criticism of conservatives over the Bad Bunny show.
https://reason.com/2026/02/09/claiming-bad-bunny-isnt-successful-is-as-foolish-as-claiming-he-isnt-american/
Claiming Bad Bunny Isn't Successful Is as Foolish As Claiming He Isn't American
The Super Bowl is a celebration of excellence, and that includes the halftime show.
Over the past 20 years, the Super Bowl halftime show has featured performances by the Rolling Stones, the Who, Coldplay, Shakira, and Rihanna. Unlike Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican pop star who drew a record audience for his performance at Sunday's Super Bowl LX, none of those performers are American citizens.
Yet the conservative outrage machine cranked itself into high gear on social media to denounce Bad Bunny, ostensibly because he is somehow undeserving or insufficiently American.
As is often the case, those efforts took their cues from the man at the top. President Donald Trump called the show "an affront to the Greatness of America" and claimed it "doesn't represent our standards of Success, Creativity, or Excellence."
Conservative influencer Jake Paul accused Bad Bunny of being "a fake American citizen."
Others put a finer point on it: "This isn't White enough for me," wrote the right-wing activist Laura Loomer, who claimed she "can't even watch a Super Bowl anymore because immigrants have literally ruined everything."
Again: Bad Bunny is an American, unlike many past Super Bowl halftime show headliners.
And if Loomer can't enjoy the Super Bowl if it isn't white enough, she must be disappointed by most aspects of the game. Most of the guys on the field weren't white. Last night's Most Valuable Player was Kenneth Walker III, a black running back for the Seattle Seahawks.
That's fine, because the Super Bowl is a color-blind celebration of excellence. It is the exact opposite of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts that the Trump coalition opposes. Walker did not win MVP because he's black, and the Seahawks did not win the championship because they had a roster with a bureaucrat-approved mix of races. They won because they are very good at their jobs.
The same is true for Bad Bunny. He's one of the biggest stars in the music industry! And he is wildly successful because people freely choose to spend their money streaming his music and going to his shows.
It makes as much sense to criticize Bad Bunny for being unsuccessful as it does to attack him for being un-American. Both are factually untrue and transparently ridiculous.
That doesn't mean you have to like Bad Bunny's music. I can barely name three of his songs. (Approaching 40 is rough.) You don't have to applaud his halftime performance—although, c'mon, it was pretty cool and quite impressive on a production and technical level, and it told a story that a non-Spanish speaker could follow.
And you don't have to like that he sings in Spanish, which seems to be the real root of most of the complaints about him headlining the Super Bowl. That's a matter of personal taste.
But the right-wing outrage machine takes gripes based on personal taste and extrapolates them into questions of merit. And some, like Loomer, then try to add a racial element.
It's exhausting. It's weird. And outside of Twitter, I suspect it's not very successful.
A political movement that is determined to create unnecessary grievances targeting America's most successful homegrown artists is not upholding meritocracy or other American values. It is demanding conformity and its own version of political correctness. Most of us have had enough of that, and we don't much care whether it is coming from the right or the left.
Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show: All the details and Easter eggs you may have missed
The Puerto Rican superstar's powerful performance was packed with nods to Latino culture.
Bad Bunny delivered an unforgettable performance during his highly anticipated Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday, transforming Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., into an unfolding love letter to Puerto Rico and its culture. But there were plenty of tiny details and subtle references packed into the Latino superstar’s 13-minute set that viewers might have missed.
For starters, the grasses that momentarily turned the football field into the Puerto Rican countryside were played by actual people.
“I was one of the 500 bunches of dancing grass at Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show,” Andrew Athias, a 33-year-old digital marketer and content creator from Philadelphia, told Business Insider. “I got paid $18.70 per hour for the gig, but I would've done it for free.”
The wedding was real
Bad Bunny’s halftime performance featured a wedding ceremony, during which a couple, both wearing white, shared a kiss in front of an officiant as they were surrounded by dancers. The crowd then parted to reveal Lady Gaga, in a baby-blue flamenco dress with a flor de maga — Puerto Rico’s national flower — pinned to her bodice. Backed by Los Sobrinos, a Puerto Rican salsa band, Gaga performed “Die With a Smile” before Bad Bunny joined her for “BAILE INoLVIDABLE” at the wedding reception.
According to the Associated Press, a representative for Bad Bunny confirmed that the couple, who was not publicly identified, had actually been married during the show. They had invited Bad Bunny to their planned wedding, but in response, they received an invitation to be part of his halftime show and were married on the field — with Bad Bunny “serving as a witness and signing their marriage certificate.”
Bad Bunny’s Spanish-language introduction
It was the first-ever Super Bowl halftime show to be performed almost entirely in Spanish (Gaga briefly sang in English).
“Mi nombre es Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio,” Bad Bunny said as he introduced himself to the crowd. “Y si hoy estoy aquí en el Super Bowl 60, es porque nunca, nunca dejé de creer en mí y tú también deberías de creer en ti, vales más de lo que piensas.”
Translated to “My name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, and if I’m here today at Super Bowl 60, it’s because I never, ever stopped believing in myself and you should also believe in yourself, you’re worth more than you think.”
Benito gives a Grammy to his younger self
In another scene during the show, a young boy was watching a small television set showing one of Bad Bunny’s acceptance speeches at last week’s Grammy Awards. The singer knelt down and handed a Grammy trophy to the boy, 5-year-old actor Lincoln Fox.
A post on Fox’s Instagram page said that it was his "truest honor" to be part of the halftime show, with hashtags ("#youngbadbunny" and "#littlebadbunny") suggesting he was portraying the singer’s younger self.
Bad Bunny wore Zara
For his performance, Bad Bunny wore a custom cream-colored outfit by Zara, the Spanish high street fashion retailer, designed by his longtime creative director Janthony Olivera. It included a collared shirt and tie, chinos and a jersey with his family name Ocasio and number 64.
Why No. 64?
Online, fans were speculating that it was a reference to 1964, the year in which his mother, Lysaurie Ocasio, was born. But Benito later explained it was to honor his late uncle.
"1964 is the year my Tio Cutito was born. He is my mother's brother. Everything that I know about the NFL is thanks to him," he told Harper’s Bazaar. "He was a big fan of the San Francisco 49ers." The 49ers play their home games in Levi’s Stadium.
"He died two years ago, a short time after the 49ers lost against Kansas City in the 2024 Super Bowl," Bad Bunny continued. "I always dreamed of taking my uncle to a Super Bowl one year, but I couldn't; his death was sudden and without warning. So I decided to bring him on my shirt when I performed at the Super Bowl: Ocasio, his last name, the same as my mom, along with his birth year, '64."
All the celebrities at La Casita
At one point, Bad Bunny made his way over to “La Casita” — the pink, concrete-brick house stage — where a crowd of celebrities, including Jessica Alba, Cardi B, Karol G, Pedro Pascal and Alix Earle, were spotted dancing.
Soon after, the rapper quite literally crashed through La Casita’s roof and into a furnished home, before emerging through the front door.
Toñita made a cameo
Speaking of celebrity cameos, Maria Antonia “Toñita” Cay — the 85-year-old owner of Brooklyn’s Caribbean Social Club — made an appearance during the block party portion of Bad Bunny’s performance, handing him a shot from an outdoor bar.
Bad Bunny’s song “NUEVAYoL” contains references to partying at Toñita’s social club, one of the last surviving Puerto Rican social clubs in New York City.
Hurricane Maria and Puerto Rico’s failing power grid
The performance was also symbolic of Puerto Rico’s failing power grid and frequent rolling blackouts.
After the storm, some Puerto Ricans in remote communities frustrated with restored their own power — with their bare hands.
The Puerto Rican independence flag
Near the end of his performance, Bad Bunny held a Puerto Rican flag with a light blue triangle, rather than the dark blue on the island’s officially recognized flag.
The azul clarito, which was on the island’s original flag before Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory, has become a symbol of Puerto Rican independence.
Bad Bunny concluded the halftime show by calling out the names of more than a dozen Latin and North American countries.
He then held up a football for the camera. On it was a message: "Together, we are America."
Link to post above if embed fails
Donald Trump blasts Bad Bunny's Super Bowl 2026 halftime show: 'An affront to the Greatness of America'
Trump added that the performance "doesn't represent our standards of Success, Creativity, or Excellence."
https://ew.com/donald-trump-bad-bunny-super-bowl-half-time-show-reaction-11900922
Donald Trump has weighed in on Bad Bunny's Super Bowl 2026 halftime show performance.
The president shared his outrage at the Puerto Rican superstar's set at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., in a Truth Social post on Sunday night.
"The Super Bowl Halftime Show is absolutely terrible, one of the worst, EVER!" the president opined. "It makes no sense, is an affront to the Greatness of America, and doesn't represent our standards of Success, Creativity, or Excellence." (Bad Bunny and every other Puerto Rican is an American citizen, as the island is a U.S. territory.)
Trump continued, "Nobody understands a word this guy is saying, and the dancing is disgusting, especially for young children that are watching from throughout the U.S.A., and all over the World."
The Grammy winner, who performed a series of his hit songs in Spanish, was also joined by Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin during the halftime show.
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Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty
The president also took the opportunity to change the subject to the economy. "This 'Show' is just a 'slap in the face' to our Country, which is setting new standards and records every single day — including the Best Stock Market and 401(k)s in History!" he wrote.
Trump added, "There is nothing inspirational about this mess of a Halftime Show and watch, it will get great reviews from the Fake News Media, because they haven't got a clue of what is going on in the REAL WORLD."
The former Apprentice host concluded his remarks with a complaint about a new football rule, "And, by the way, the NFL should immediately replace its ridiculous new Kickoff Rule," he said, echoing his rant from last year.
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Neilson Barnard/Getty
Trump previously criticized the decision to hire Bad Bunny as the Super Bowl halftime show performer during an appearance on NewsMax’s Greg Kelly Reports in October.
"I've never heard of him," Trump said of the Puerto Rican musician at the time. "I don't know who he is."
Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.
Trump added, "I don't know why they're doing it. It's crazy. And then they blame it on some promoter they hired to pick up entertainment — I think it's absolutely ridiculous."
That last jab may have been in reference to the fact that the NFL's partner, Jay-Z's Roc Nation, selected Bad Bunny as the performer rather than the league itself.
Trump became the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl in 2025, but said that he was skipping this year's game in January.
"It's just too far away," he told the New York Post. "I would. I've [gotten] great hands [at] the Super Bowl. They like me."
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Taylor Hill/FilmMagic; Phil McCarten/CBS via Getty
Trump also took the opportunity to slam Bad Bunny again, and also criticized Green Day, who played at the game's opening ceremony.
"I'm anti-them," Trump said of the musicians. "I think it's a terrible choice. All it does is sow hatred. Terrible."
The Super Bowl isn't the only pop cultural spectacle that Trump has addressed this month. The president previously slammed the Grammy Awards on Feb. 1, calling the show “virtually unwatchable” and opining that host Trevor Noah was “almost as bad as Jimmy Kimmel at the Low Ratings Academy Awards.”
Trump was particularly upset by the host's joke about the president's connection to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, which came after Billie Eilish won the Song of the Year award.
"That is a Grammy that every artist wants almost as much as Trump wants Greenland," Noah said. "Which makes sense, I mean, because Epstein’s island is gone, he needs a new one to hang out on with Bill Clinton."
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Taylor Hill/WireImage
"Noah said, INCORRECTLY about me, that Donald Trump and Bill Clinton spent time on Epstein Island. WRONG!!!” Trump responded. "I can't speak for Bill, but I have never been to Epstein Island, nor anywhere close, and until tonight's false and defamatory statement, have never been accused of being there, not even by the Fake News Media."
Trump later threatened Noah with legal action. "It looks like I’ll be sending my lawyers to sue this poor, pathetic, talentless, dope of an M.C., and suing him for plenty$," he wrote.
Bad Bunny's selection as the halftime show performer led to so much conservative backlash that the right-wing organization Turning Point USA, which was founded by the late Charlie Kirk, organized its own counterprogramming music extravaganza. The show featured Trump supporter Kid Rock flanked by country artists Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett.
Turning Point's "All-American Halftime Show" was promoted as a celebration promoting "faith, family and freedom." The initial announcement of the event linked to a survey asking viewers which genres the hoped to hear represented, with options including "Pop," "Worship,""Americana," and "Anything in English." That last option echoes conservatives' repeated insistence that Bad Bunny is unfit to perform at the Super Bowl because his music is predominantly in Spanish.
It didn't quite set a record, but almost 125 million people tuned in to watch the Seattle Seahawks defeat the New England Patriots on Sunday in Super Bowl LX.
NBC announced on Tuesday night that this year's Super Bowl averaged 124.9 million viewers on their network, which made it the second-most-watched Super Bowl ever. That trails only last year's Super Bowl — when the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs — which averaged 127.7 million viewers on Fox.
The halftime show caused a slight surge in viewership, too. NBC said Bad Bunny's performance at Levi's Stadium averaged 128.2 million viewers over the 15 minute window. That's down slightly from the more than 133 million that tuned in for Kendrick Lamar's halftime show at the Super Bowl last year in New Orleans.
By comparison, Turning Point USA's "All-American Halftime Show" drew about 6.1 million concurrent viewers on YouTube on Sunday, according to The Athletic. That alternative halftime show, which was pre-recorded, featured Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice and Gabby Barrett.
House Republicans call to investigate Bad Bunny Super Bowl halftime show over 'widespread twerking, grinding, pelvic thrusts'
Rep. Mark Alford said the fallout "could be much worse than the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction."
Two days out, Bad Bunny's epic Super Bowl halftime show, which featured cameos from stars such as Lady Gaga, Pedro Pascal, and Ricky Martin, is still getting a lot of attention, especially from Republican lawmakers. They were not entertained.
By Monday, one of the detractors, Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), asked officials to look into the performance, which he called "pure smut" that he claimed was "illegal to be displayed on public airways."
Ogles cited "choreography featuring overtly sexualized movements, including widespread twerking, grinding, pelvic thrusts and other sexually suggestive conduct."
He is, therefore, "requesting that the Energy and Commerce Committee launch a formal congressional inquiry into the National Football League and NBC immediately for their prior knowledge, deliberate approval, and facilitation of this indecent broadcast. American culture will not be mocked or corrupted without consequence."
Ogles' colleague Rep. Mark Alford (R-Mo.) said Tuesday that he and his Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives have already embarked on an investigation into the event.
"On the Bad Bunny bad performance at the Super Bowl — we're still investigating this," he said on TV's Real America's Voice, per The Wrap. "There's a lot of information that has come out about the lyrics."
Alford referenced the halftime show held by conservative organization Turning Point USA, which was meant as an alternative to the official Super Bowl halftime that President Donald Trump and others had spoken against well before it took place.
"I saw the halftime show — we were switching back and forth with the [Turning Point USA] halftime show," Alford said. "The lyrics from what we've seen from Bad Bunny are very disturbing. And if it holds true — I don't speak fluent Spanish, okay, I know how to ask where the bathroom is — but if it's true what was said on national television, we have a lot of questions for the entities that broadcast this and we'll be talking with Brendan Carr from the [Federal Communications Commission]."
He added, "This could be much worse than the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction," in a reference to the 2004 event in which more of Jackson's breasts showed than had been expected.
Trump himself called Sunday's show "absolutely terrible, one of the worst, EVER!" and "an affront to the Greatness of America." He deemed the dancing "disgusting."
The preemptive criticism of Bad Bunny's halftime show was not enough to keep more than 128 million people from watching.
https://ew.com/lady-gaga-ricky-martin-make-surprise-appearance-at-bad-bunny-super-bowl-halftime-show-11902389
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- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of Mom's death, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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