By Marni Rose McFall
Copyright newsweek
MAGA is calling for Creed to play a rival Superbowl show this year, as backlash to Bad Bunny playing the Superbowl Halftime Show continues.
Newsweek has contacted a representative for Creed via email for comment.
Why It Matters
Latin superstar, Bad Bunny, has been announced as the performer at the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show at Levi’s Stadium, marking a massive milestone for the representation of Latin music on one of the largest entertainment stages in the world.
L: Bad Bunny performs onstage at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre on March 17, 2025 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images). R: Creed’s lead singer Scott Stapp and the band’s guitarist Mark Tremonti (R) perform onstage at the Beacon Theatre on April 20, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Fernando Leon/Getty Images).
Bad Bunny’s selection follows a massive year for the 31-year-old, who was born and raised in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. Bad Bunny sings in Spanish and has long been credited with helping to popularize Spanish-language rap music. He called his upcoming Super Bowl show a victory for “my people, my culture, and our history.”
Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, has been a vocal critic of President Donald Trump and has previously spoken out about avoiding U.S. performances due to concerns over ICE raids.
The Super Bowl Halftime Show is a massive cultural event and generally draws more than 100 million viewers, providing mass global exposure for artists. The NFL has partnered with Roc Nation since 2019 to book the Halftime Show.
The NFL has become a flashpoint in online culture wars over the past few years, and backlash has been leveled at Super Bowl performers by the MAGA contingent before.
What To Know
The announcement that Bad Bunny would be the Superbowl halftime show performer was instantly met with backlash and calls to replace him with Creed came on social media almost swiftly in response.
After Bad Bunny was confirmed as the performer, Posobiec posted on X “By every measure Creed has earned the Superbowl halftime gig. It is time for them to take us Higher. To a place with golden streets.”
Auron MacIntyre, the podcast host and author, posted on X, “Demanding that Trump replace him with Creed through executive order.” As of reporting, that post has been viewed 1.6 million times.
In an episode of The Charlie Kirk Show, Posobiec spoke further about wanting Creed to be the halftime performer. “The response is simple here,” he said during the podcast. “Bring on Creed.”
A clip of that podcast was then shared by the account @HumanEvents on X, with the caption “Should TPUSA put on a competing Super Bowl halftime show starring Creed?”. As of press time, that post has been viewed 2.7 million times.
But it’s not the first time people have tried to get Creed to play the Super Bowl halftime show.
In August of 2024, a petition to have Creed play the half time show circulated on X, though it only reached 5 signatures. In November of 2024, a post went viral on X claiming that Creed had replaced Kendrick Lamar as the Super Bowl halftime show performer. The post amassed over 100,000 views but was ultimately untrue.
Though the calls for Creed to perform are widespread, the reasoning as to why they specifically should headline was not made explicit. It may be in part due to the fact that Creed is widely considered to be a Christian band. While speaking in the podcast, Posobiec described a past performance of Creed’s as “The peak of America.”
What People Are Saying
The account @amuse, in a post on X viewed over 30,000 times: “SUPERBOWL: Until we can figure out what is going on with the NFL, President Trump should announce, via presidential proclamation, that Creed will replace Bad Bunny as the halftime entertainment for the 2026 Super Bowl.”
The account @robin_verm2297, in a post on X: “Honestly, Creed at a TPUSA halftime show would probably outdraw the real Super Bowl performance People are craving something uplifting and unifying these days; “With Arms Wide Open” might be exactly the vibe.!
The account @CoryMyres, in a post on X: “I think it’s clear that we the people want Creed for the Super Bowl halftime show. The democrats claim to be pro democracy. The majority of people voted for Trump. The people say “Creed.” Trump being our representative should mandate Creed.”
The account @KTmBoyle, in a post on X: “I am old and yes, I have indeed heard of this Bad Bunny, but just once I want the Super Bowl to consider my evergreen idea for the millennial plus demo: the best karaoke songs of all time. You get Nickelback. Creed. Rick Astley for the inevitable Rickroll. Radiohead. Backstreet Boys. Third Eye Blind. Diana Ross. Journey.”
What’s Next
