By suzanne downing 
“The best customer you can get is the one you already have.”
That old marketing adage may be a lesson the NFL forgot when it tapped Bad Bunny for the coveted Super Bowl halftime show next February in Santa Clara, Calif.
The Puerto Rican-born superstar is undeniably one of the world’s biggest artists, a clear move to lure an international audience. But if his history is any indication, his set could double as a cultural show of resistance to the Trump administration — a risky move that could alienate the NFL’s core fan base.
This wouldn’t be the first time the halftime show has sparked controversy. Earlier this year, rapper Kendrick Lamar’s politically charged performance divided viewers. In 2022, Eminem knelt during his set to protest racial injustice, igniting days of debate.
Sunday’s announcement of Bad Bunny as headliner drew an immediate backlash from MAGA influencers and Trump supporters. They brand him a “Trump hater” and “anti-ICE activist” and point out he has no songs in English. The show will also be his only US mainland appearance in 2026.
Bad Bunny’s was born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio. Now, he is among the most-streamed artists globally, with popularity on par with Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. His residency in Puerto Rico has generated an estimated $400 million boost to the island’s economy. His music, with themes of Latino pride and identity politics, has earned him multiple Grammys and Latin Grammys.
Bad Bunny has funded billboard campaigns aimed at unseating Puerto Rico’s pro-statehood party. That effort failed, and today the governor’s mansion is held by Jenniffer González-Colón, a Trump ally. He has blasted the US-imposed fiscal board that Trump reshaped this summer, and he has bleated about blackouts and gentrification displacing native Puerto Ricans.
He uses his platform to champion LGBTQ+ and transgender rights, wearing gender-fluid outfits.
Football dwarfs all other sports in cultural reach and the NFL usually plays it safe. But this time, the league seems to be betting that global appeal outweighs domestic backlash.
Suzanne Downing
Most of us just want to watch championship level football … without the ‘freak-show’ and ‘wierdos’ but, it appears we’ll have to (once again) endure another despicable halftime show!
Or maybe I’ll need to wash out the inside of my clothes washer during halftime, you never know.
Never heard of this freak….