- By Nidhi Giri
- Mon, 09 Feb 2026 12:29 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Bad Bunny lived up to his promise that the world will dance during his monumental Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. On Sunday night, the Latin music superstar delivered an unapologetic, and unity-themed performance that reached over 100 million viewers. Far from just a musical medley, the show served as a vibrant tribute to Latin American culture and a direct response to political tensions regarding immigration in the United States.
The performance was steeped in subtle and overt political messaging. In a poignant moment, Bad Bunny’s Grammy acceptance speech played on a television screen while he stood with a young boy who closely resembled Liam, the five-year-old child famously detained by ICE in Minneapolis last month. Bad Bunny symbolically handed the boy his Grammy Award. Additionally, this performance marked the first-ever mostly Spanish-language halftime show in Super Bowl history. To honour those who paved the way, Bad Bunny welcomed fellow Puerto Rican icon Ricky Martin for a surprise duet.
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The show ended with a clear message. Bad Bunny named countries across the American continent. The flags of these countries were carried behind him. Bad Bunny also raised a football, having the message “Together, We Are America” while a video displayed “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”
Criticism Over Bad Bunny’s Performance
President Donald Trump, and other conservatives, however, were not impressed by Bad Bunny’s performance.
Criticism surfaced from some corners over his Puerto Rican heritage, even though the island is a US territory, and others took issue with the fact that much of his music is performed in Spanish. Still, for many watching, the language difference did not seem to matter, and the reaction from viewers was largely indifferent to those concerns.
Not long after, Trump took to Truth Social, branding the halftime show “one of the worst, EVER!” He argued that the performance “doesn’t represent our standards” and complained that “nobody understands a word this guy is saying.” In the same post, he shifted gears to appreciate the stock market, lash out at the news media, and again take aim at the NFL’s kickoff rule.