Bad Bunny, ICE and the Super Bowl: How music, immigration and MAGA collided
When the NFL announced that Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny would headline the Super Bowl LX halftime show, it triggered more than the usual excitement.
It unleashed a political fiasco. Conservatives accused the league of ignoring traditional US cultural values.
When he was announced as the headliner for the Super Bowl halftime show conservative critics immediately questioned the choice – not only musically, but culturally.
House Speaker Mike Johnson called it a “terrible decision.” President Donald Trump called the pick “crazy” and “absolutely ridiculous. US rightwing politician Marjorie Taylor Greene went further, labelling the choice “perverse” and “demonic” in moral terms.
Immigration hardliners threatened enforcement at the stadium. And Turning Point USA, a conservative activist organisation, responded by announcing its own rival “All American Halftime Show.”
What looks like a war over pop culture is a reflection of the broader fractures in U.S. politics: identity, belonging, race, and the long shadow of Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
Why is Bad Bunny so controversial?
Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, aka Bad Bunny, is a global phenomenon. But the controversy around him has little to do with his music, and more to do with his identity, language and political stance.
He is a U.S. citizen by birth (Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory), yet his music is predominantly in Spanish and often embraces Latin identity themes.
Bad Bunny responded with defiance during his recent appearance on Saturday Night Live. He joked that critics had “four months to learn” Spanish, and delivered a message in both English and Spanish: that the show is more than personal success – it’s a statement about visibility and Latin contribution.
On ICE, immigration enforcement and concert fears
The tension is not only rhetorical. Bad Bunny has been vocal about his fears of immigration enforcement (ICE) targeting his fans.
He had made the decision not to include U.S. dates on his recent world tour because he feared ICE raids could target concertgoers.
That concern has been echoed by Trump-aligned voices. Corey Lewandowski, an adviser to the Department of Homeland Security, publicly warned that ICE will be present at the Super Bowl.
“There is nowhere you can provide safe haven to people who are in this country illegally – not the Super Bowl, not anywhere else,” he said.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem went further, saying ICE agents would be deployed and that “only law-abiding Americans” should attend.
Turning Point USA’s “All American Halftime Show”
Rather than accept the NFL’s choice, Turning Point USA (TPUSA) has opted to create its own halftime show – “The All American Halftime Show”” – that will air in competition with the official Bad Bunny performance.
The organisation announced it will feature musical acts (to be revealed soon) and markets the event as an “alternate” to the NFL’s choice.
TPUSA is a conservative non-profit, co-founded by Charlie Kirk, that is active especially on college campuses and in youth politics. It is known for provocative rhetoric, confrontational tactics and a brand of “culture war” politics.
Critics have slammed the counter-show as a thinly veiled act of reactionary cultural signalling.
Some commentators call it a display of white supremacy or nativism repackaged as “patriotic entertainment.”
Supporters, by contrast, frame it as resisting “woke entertainment” and defending “faith, family and freedom.”
What this tells us about the current US political climate
Just a few years ago, Latin artists like Jennifer Lopez and Shakira were celebrated for their Super Bowl performances.
Their 2020 joint halftime appearance was widely lauded as a showcase of Latino crossover appeal. The contrast is stark: what was once a moment of inclusion and celebration is now contended by critics who see Latin performance as subversion.
@bestofsuperbowl 2020 – Shakira & Jennifer Lopez!!💃🏽🎶 #superbowl #halftimeshow #shakira #jenniferlopez #2020 ♬ original sound – BEST OF SUPERBOWL HALFTIME
The Big Bunny debate reflects a US in which race, language, identity and belonging are not backroom debates but front-page confrontations.
This is mainly due to Donald Trump’s presidency and his immigration policies.
During his time in office, rhetoric around immigrants, especially Latino communities, has become harsher, more exclusionary, more tied to fear narratives.
Incidents of harassment, anti-Hispanic sentiment and institutional pressure on immigrant communities surged.
Numerous civil-rights groups, media analyses and community organisations have documented increases in hate crimes, hostile rhetoric, and enforcement operations targeting Latinx communities under his administration.
In that context, the backlash against Bad Bunny is a continuation of a pattern: the performer is being reduced to an identity that is policed rather than being appreciated as an artist.
IOL Entertainment