Turning Point USA may have tried to lead a boycott and counter-program the Super Bowl halftime show, but somehow nearly every right-wing influencer managed to watch Bad Bunny bring down Levi’s Stadium — and they are furious.
The annual meltdown by conservative influencers and activists over the halftime show is about as predictable as death and the sunrise, a Super Bowl tradition alongside buffalo chicken dip and weird commercials. But this year the hysterical MAGA masses are in rare form.
As Immigration and Customs Enforcement continues to terrorize migrants around the country, Puerto Rico’s very own Bad Bunny became the first Latino male artist to not only headline the halftime show, but perform entirely in Spanish. Bad Bunny used the national stage to celebrate Latino culture, focusing on his Puerto Rican roots. The star ripped through some of his biggest hits and brought out surprise guests, including Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin. He also invited a cast of celebrities to dance in his famed La Casita stage set.
During his 13-minute show, Bad Bunny was not overtly political but he did send a message of unity as he paraded flags from all over Latin America. Unsurprisingly, his set was the most exciting part of the night. Neither the Seahawks nor the Patriots scored a touchdown until the fourth quarter.
Bad Bunny’s hater-in-chief remains President Donald Trump who, despite statements from the White House asserting that he would not be watching Bad Bunny and would instead support TPUSA, immediately posted an angry rant about the performance.
The president wrote that the performance was “an affront to the Greatness of America, and doesn’t represent our standards of Success, Creativity, or Excellence,” and a “a ‘slap in the face’ to our Country.” Trump also echoed the chief complaint of many right-wing detractors, that the performance was delivered in Spanish, the second-most spoken language around the world and in the United States.
Megyn Kelly shared a similar sentiment. “Nah, I like my half time shows in English from ppl who love America,” she wrote in response to a political science professor telling her she missed out on the halftime show for opting to watch the Turning Point USA’s version.
Love Music?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in Australian/New Zealand music and globally.
Daily Wire host Matt Walsh — who claimed he hadn’t watched the performance and only seen social media clips — complained on X that “having the halftime show for your biggest game of the year in a language almost none of your lifelong fans can understand, while waving the flags of countries that none them are from, is the biggest fuck you that l’ve ever seen a corporation give to its own.”
Walsh, like many others in his cohort, is apparently unaware that the NFL enjoys a global audience. Games are available in over 185 countries and over 25 languages. The league regularly hosts sold out games in non-English predominant destinations including Mexico City, Rio, Madrid, Munich, and Paris. Bad Bunny is one of if not the most popular artist in the world, dethroning Taylor Swift last year as the most-streamed artist on Spotify.
Trump stan account “Catturd” wrote that “the Super Bowl in the USA just had a halftime all in Spanish. I’m dead serious, I will never watch a NFL game again as long as I live. Not one second.” In 2020, Catturd declared that he was “never watching the NBA, NFL, MLB, or NASCAR again — and I won’t miss it one damn bit.” We’ll see you next year, sir.
Right-wing filmmaker Robby Starbuck whined that “having Bad Bunny do the Super Bowl halftime show ENTIRELY in Spanish, in the United States is like playing the national anthem in Chinese at the World Series or replacing hot dogs on the 4th of July with tofu. It’s just not right [the] NFL disrespected the fans and the country.”
The national anthem was performed at the Super Bowl, in English, by Charlie Puth. Rolling Stone could not immediately confirm the presence of hot dogs in Levi’s Stadium (we assume they were there), but we do know that Super Bowl attendees could purchase a braised veal shank burger topped with cheese fondue for $180 — and what’s more American than corporations price-gouging a hunk of meat at an already ridiculously expensive sporting event?
Meanwhile, right-wing conspiracy theorist and Trump confidant Laura Loomer had a full-on meltdown as soon as Bad Bunny took the stage. “What the hell is this illegal alien farm worker non English shit on my TV,” she wrote in an X post. As a Community note informed Loomer, Bad Bunny is Puerto Rican and U.S. citizen, since Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory. That didn’t stop Loomer from begging for an ICE raid to stop the halftime show in multiple posts. “SOMEONE CALL IN AN ICE RAID AT THE SUPER BOWL!” At one point, she even said the quiet part aloud. “This isn’t White enough for me,” she wrote in a different post.
Before the Super Bowl even kicked off, influencer Logan Paul let out an emphatic “no” when asked if he was excited about the halftime show. His lack of enthusiasm seemed to match his brother, Jake. Earlier in the night, Jake called on his followers to turn off the halftime show, describing Bad Bunny as “a fake American citizen performing who publicly hates America.” But it seems the Paul brothers weren’t exactly on the same page. “I love my brother but I don’t agree with this,” Logan wrote on X. “Puerto Ricans are Americans & I’m happy they were given the opportunity to showcase the talent that comes from the island.”
Bad Bunny ended the halftime show with a cry of “God bless America!” and named list of the nations that comprise the American continents. Before a parade of flags, he held out a football emblazoned with the words “TOGETHER, WE ARE AMERICA.” Behind him, the stadium jumbotrons flashed the phrase “THE ONLY THING MORE POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE.” It was some of the only English featured in the program. It’s a message the right has had trouble understanding.
From Rolling Stone US
