Bad Bunny Super Bowl halftime show faces criticism from viewers

The Super Bowl LX halftime show featuring Latin trap artist Bad Bunny was the subject of immense criticism from Americans on Sunday night. 

President Donald Trump called it “one of the worst ever.”

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“The Super Bowl Halftime Show is absolutely terrible, one of the worst, EVER! It makes no sense, is an affront to the Greatness of America, and doesn’t represent our standards of Success, Creativity, or Excellence. 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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

“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! 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 — And, by the way, the NFL should immediately replace its ridiculous new Kickoff Rule. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Prominent conservative influencers were among the show’s harshest critics, and even Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice Harmeet Dhillon chimed in. 

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One of the biggest criticisms of the show was that it was almost entirely in Spanish. 

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Bad Bunny performs during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, California. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Other users even tied the show to the nation’s ongoing debate about illegal immigration and deportations at the hands of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. 

However, some fans and sports stars praised the show, including former NFL star JJ Watt and New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson.

The show concluded with a message on the Levi Stadium video board that read, “The Only Thing More Powerful Than Hate is Love,” which some critics interpreted as a political message.

The show was expected to be the first Super Bowl halftime show to be sung entirely in Spanish. However, pop artist Lady Gaga showed up to sing the Bruno Mars song “Die With a Smile.” 

Bad Bunny wore a mock football jersey that read “Ocasio 64.” Ocasio being his last night. Some suggested the number referred to the death toll from Hurricane Maria that the Puerto Rican government first claimed. The number was later revised to nearly 3,000.

Many fans opted to skip this year’s Super Bowl halftime show to watch Turning Point USA’s “All-American” halftime show, headlined by Kid Rock, including Pro Football Hall of Famers Eric Dickerson and Brett Favre, and former ESPN host Sage Steele.

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Bad Bunny performs during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president would be watching the “All-American” halftime show.

“I think the president would much prefer a Kid Rock performance over Bad Bunny. I must say that,” Leavitt told reporters at Thursday’s White House press briefing.

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Bad Bunny performs during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell defended having Bad Bunny as the performer earlier this week. 

“Listen, Bad Bunny is, and I think that was demonstrated last night, one of the great artists in the world and that’s one of the reasons we chose him,” Goodell said. “But the other reason is he understood the platform he was on and this platform is used to unite people and to be able to bring people together with their creativity, with their talents and to be able to use this moment to do that and I think artists in the past have done that.

“I think Bad Bunny understands that and I think he’ll have a great performance.”

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