Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, the multi-Grammy award-winning rapper, actor, and businessman better known as Bad Bunny, is a superstar who continues to smash global records and just wrapped a successful summer-long residency in Puerto Rico. The final performance, livestreamed on Prime Video and Twitch, broke viewership records for a single-artist performance. So the NFL’s announcement last week that Bad Bunny will headline the Super Bowl LX Halftime Show seemed an obvious choice.
“The Halftime Show is the ultimate celebration of music and culture, and few artists embody that intersection more perfectly and authentically than Bad Bunny,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple’s Vice President of Music, Sports and Beats in the NFL’s announcement.
But like so many things in today’s America, reactions were politically polarized, the backlash swift. While fans celebrated, many on the right took to social media to criticize the choice and call for boycotts. And, as corporations and media giants kowtow to the Trump administration’s demands, it is striking that heavyweights like the NFL, Apple Music, and Roc Nation selected Bad Bunny, the first male Latino headliner. So what’s happening here? Let’s dig in.
Business Trumps Politics
NFL viewership has declined overall, for a variety of reasons, while its international reach has grown. Which is why there are more international games played each season. The math is simple: to continue growing or simply survive, the NFL needs to attract new fans: younger and diverse fans.
Commissioner Roger Goodell said that “diversity efforts” were “the right thing for the National Football League, and we’re going to continue to do those efforts.”
The NFL is no stranger to pandering. These are the same people who tried to attract female viewers by selling pink jerseys and pastel fan gear, while over 117 players were arrested for domestic violence between 2000 and 2019 with “negligible” effects on their careers. Now, while accusations of racial discrimination persist and white men hold almost all of their leadership roles, the NFL is working to attract our younger and potentially lucrative community to their fan base.
It’s Always about Expansion
“With more than 39 million Latino NFL fans in the U.S., we’re proud to have one of the largest Latino fan bases in American sports, and as the game continues to grow globally – particularly in Hispanic and Latino communities around the world,” said Marissa Solis, NFL senior vice president of global brand and consumer marketing. This season will include games in Madrid and Sao Paulo.
The big question isn’t really why the NFL chose Bad Bunny, but why Bad Bunny agreed to perform at the Halftime Show when he has notably excluded the United States on tour, citing concerns about ICE raids. Some critics argue that the performance provides cover for the NFL, which has often been accused of exploitation, simply helping them make more money while doing nothing to help immigrant communities.
Still, Representation Matters
The fact remains that – even as traditional media shrinks – the Super Bowl is the most-watched televised event. For the first time, this most American spectacle will feature a performance entirely in Spanish. And at a time when we are facing erasure – ICE is literally rounding up and disappearing people, museums are removing our historical contributions, and even our government is deleting Spanish-language resources – this milestone is meaningful. Bad Bunny will take the stage and claim space for all of us.
Over the weeks and months ahead, the controversy will likely escalate, which will be profitable for all involved. On the right, outrage fuels their ecosystem. The left will use these clips of racist posts in their own talking points. Something Bad Bunny alluded to while hosting Saturday Night Live, when he said, “everyone was happy, even Fox News.”
But it’s not just pundits and politicians enjoying the news cycle. The NFL will also get lots of free media attention.
And I’m Looking Forward to It
I hope for a record-breaking audience, something to remind the NFL and corporate heads everywhere of Latino buying power. I hope that leads them to take a stand, to invest in immigrant communities – even if only for ulterior motives.
I am looking forward to a bold statement. Bad Bunny has never shied away from advocacy, and if he is taking the world’s biggest stage, I am sure that he’ll say something meaningful.
I want to see joy. There is no better antidote to anger and ugliness than standing taller: singing, dancing, celebrating. It is a huge achievement, as Bad Bunny said, “Más que un logro mío, es un logro de todos, demostrando que nuestras huellas y nuestra aportación en este país nadie la podrá sacar ni borrar.”
