Prominent MAGA figures are raging after the NFL announced Bad Bunny will headline the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show.
The Puerto Rican rapper and singer was labeled a “massive Trump hater,” an “anti-ICE activist,” and slammed for having “no songs in English” by some of President Donald Trump’s most loyal supporters.
Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, recently revealed that he decided not to include the U.S. in his 2025-2026 tour over fears that Immigration, Customs and Enforcement agents “could be outside” his concert venues.
“People from the US could come here to see the show,” the artist said, referring to Puerto Rico. “Latinos and Puerto Ricans of the United States could also travel here, or to any part of the world,” he told i-D magazine earlier this month. “But there was the issue that f***ing ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
The Super Bowl announcement has not gone down well with MAGA.
“Massive Trump hater, anti-ICE activist, no songs in English,” fumed conservative commentator Benny Johnson, and criticized the musician’s decision to drop the U.S. from his tour.
“The NFL is self-destructing year after year,” Johnson added.
“Bad Bunny said two weeks ago he won’t perform in the US because he’s scared ICE agents would deport his fans,” raged radio host Dan O’Donnell. “Turns out his business sense far outweighs his moral convictions.”
Robbie Starbuck of the conservative Heritage Foundation accused the NFL of “pushing left-wing social issues.”
“Is it that hard to pick a unifying music act who doesn’t want to peddle woke propaganda? Does this guy really scream American football to anyone? Be for real with me,” Starbuck said. “No one thinks he does. This isn’t about music, it’s about putting a guy on stage who hates Trump and MAGA.”
Conservative commentator Josie Glabach labeled Bad Bunny “a demonic Marxist” in a post on her X account, “The Redheaded Libertarian.”
“He came out of no where and doesn’t sing in English,” she said. “It’s about recruiting people away from the light and into the darkness at a consequential time. Keep you children away from it.”
The 31-year-old is one of the world’s most-streamed artists.
The NFL announced his halftime show Sunday, which will take place at Levi’s Stadium on February 8 in Santa Clara, California.
“What I’m feeling goes beyond myself,” Bad Bunny said. “It’s for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown… this is for my people, my culture, and our history. Ve y dile a tu abuela, que seremos el HALFTIME SHOW DEL SUPER BOWL.”
Bad Bunny previously explained the decision to avoid the U.S. and perform a 30-day residency on his home island of Puerto Rico was “not out of hate.”
“I’ve performed there many times,” the said of the U.S. “All of [the shows] have been successful. All of them have been magnificent. I’ve enjoyed connecting with Latinos who have been living in the U.S.”
