Bad Bunny mocked the backlash to the announcement that he will perform in the Super Bowl halftime show while hosting the first episode of Season 51 of Saturday Night Live (SNL).
The Latin superstar gave a bilingual monologue where he referenced the upcoming gig and said, “I’m very happy. And I think everyone is happy about it. Even Fox News.”
Why It Matters
Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl selection comes after a massive year for the artist, real name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, who was born and raised in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. He has long been credited with helping to popularize Spanish-language rap music, and sings all his songs in Spanish.
This year, he released his sixth solo album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, which has spent 38 weeks on the Billboard 200 list, and completed a historic 30-date residency in San Juan, his home country’s capital.
He has been a vocal critic of President Donald Trump and has previously spoken about choosing not to perform in the U.S. due to concerns over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids.
What To Know
After Bad Bunny spoke about being happy about playing the Super Bowl, SNL played out a supercut of Fox News clips. The network has aired coverage where the NFL was being criticized for booking a Spanish-language artist and highlighted the rapper’s recent comments about ICE.
The supercut, though, was chopped up to feature comments made by anchors, including Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity, to say, “Bad Bunny is my favorite musician, and he should be the next president.”
Then, speaking in his mother tongue, the EoO hitmaker shared some emotional thanks to those who are genuinely excited for his Super Bowl performance.
“It’s more than a win for myself,” he said. It’s a win for all of us. Our footprints and our contribution in this country, no one will ever be able to take that away or erase it.”
Switching to English, he said, “If you didn’t understand what I just said, you have four months to learn.”
Speaking to i-D magazine in September, Bad Bunny said he had opted not to perform in the U.S. during his latest tour, due to concerns about ICE. “But there was the issue of — like, f****** ICE could be outside [my concert],” he said. “And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
In a post on X ahead of the announcement, Bad Bunny said, “I’ve been thinking about it these dates, and after discussing it with my team, I think I’ll do just one date in the United States.”
These comments have been met with backlash from MAGA, Trump supporters, and from the White House. In a recent interview with The Benny Show’s Benny Johnson, Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security secretary confirmed that ICE agents will be at the Super Bowl. “We’ll be all over that place,” Noem said, adding, “People should not be coming to the Super Bowl unless they’re law-abiding Americans who love this country.”
What People Are Saying
Bad Bunny, in a statement issued after his Super Bowl performance, was announced: “What I’m feeling goes beyond myself. 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 [“Go tell your grandma we’re going to be the SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOW].”
Jay-Z, the artist and founder of Roc Nation, said in a statement that what Bad Bunny has “done and continues to do for Puerto Rico is truly inspiring. We are honored to have him on the world’s biggest stage.” The entertainment company partners with the NFL to book the halftime show.
What’s Next
Bad Bunny will continue his world tour through the fall and winter, and the Super Bowl will be his sole U.S. appearance.