Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl 60 halftime show highlighted Latin American culture and drew many conflicting opinions.
Bad Bunny has over 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify and is the first Latin musician to achieve this milestone. He is one of the top artists in the United States.
The set was created to feel like Puerto Rico with workers cutting sugar cane. The sugar plantations were picked because they represent colonialism and slavery. Most of the set was also in Spanish.
Students’ opinions on the set varied. Some said the performance was important to them.
“I thought the show was very powerful. Bad Bunny is one of my favorite artists and seeing him go on stage and celebrate Latin culture was just unbelievable, said Nicholas Fernandez, a sophomore.
Students who said they disliked the set declined to be identified for fear of being viewed negatively by their peers.
Shortly after the set, President Donald Trump shared his opinion, saying the performance was “absolutely terrible” and “one of the worst ever.” The president also claimed he had never heard of Bad Bunny.
After Bad Bunny won a Grammy award, the artist publicly spoke about his distaste for ICE, a leading facet of the Trump administration’s immigration policy.
Although some viewers criticized the National Football League for picking a Spanish-speaking performer, the NFL had no say in the decision. Jay-Z’s studio Roc Nation made the final call. Roc Nation is currently on a five-year 25-million deal. A part of that deal requires Jay-Z to include the inspire change social justice initiative.
To protest the halftime show, Turning Point USA hosted their own All-American Halftime Show. This concert featured Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Bryce and Gabby Barrett. They held the show as an alternative for people who prefer “American culture, freedom and faith.” Turning point garnered 5 to 6.4 million viewers while Bad Bunny’s performance had 128.2 million viewers.
Many people are acting as if this was the first Super Bowl halftime show with a message, even though it has been happening for years. It started with Beyonce bringing out dancers dressed in a Black Panthers motif during her set. Jennifer Lopez performed with kids in cages to protest immigration. Last year Kendrick Lamar’s performance was dedicated to African American suffrage.
Not long after the show ended, many people went to visit Bad Bunny’s Instagram account and found he had deleted it. The reason is unclear why he did this, although he has a history of doing this before a big announcement.










