After the recent Bad Bunny halftime show at Super Bowl LX and the surrounding eruptive response from audiences, it is clear that these performances are no longer just a show, but a statement.
Anyone who watches the Super Bowl is assailed with the same advertisements and political messaging every year, and no one bats an eye. In fact, it has become known as a reason to tune in. Each year, people guess which beer ads will play, which celebrities will endorse products and choose which commercials they deem their favorites.
Somehow, however, the most-anticipated intermission performances are expected to be neutral? The truth is, halftime shows have been far from uncontroversial for a while.
When Coldplay headlined in 2016, their show featured pride flags and an appearance from Beyoncé, during which she sang her song “Formation.” Those who criticized this show said that it pushed the gay agenda and was anti-police. In the 2022 halftime performance, Eminem took a knee with football player Colin Kaepernick in solidarity with his social protest against police brutality.
In 2025, Kendrick Lamar took the commentary surrounding these performances to the next level. The halftime show featured Samuel L. Jackson as Uncle Sam asking the rapper if he “knew how to play the game,” Lamar’s statement, “the revolution about to be televised,” dancers in the shape of an American flag and the words, “40 acres and a mule – this is bigger than the music” to name a few.
These statements revealed that the future of halftime shows is no longer just entertainment with elements of commentary, but is itself the commentary.
With this shift in design generally recognized by audiences, people wondered who would perform at the 2026 Super Bowl, and the reveal nearly broke the internet. Conservatives, liberals and various others had an explosive reaction to the artist’s announcement: the main criticism was that Bad Bunny would not be performing in English at an “all-American football game” in a country where Spanish is the second-most-spoken language. The pushback was so enormous that Turning Point USA, founded by Charlie Kirk, put on their own halftime show in protest with artist Kid Rock.
Clearly deemed controversial, everyone wondered what Bad Bunny’s performance would actually entail. The show itself was surprising, but not in the way many expected.
The halftime show opened with Bad Bunny singing, “titi me pregunto” in a field of Puerto Rican sugarcane. As he walked around the set singing, scenes of Latino identity and culture popped up and came to life in the music. The set featured field workers in straw pavas, nail techs at work, boxers practicing and a real wedding witnessed by the artist himself.
Throughout the show, there was a couple’s engagement, party and wedding, showcasing the response of love, as well as the sadness, joys and celebrations that come with these everyday occurrences.
This message of love was not limited to the couple. As the performance came to a close, a billboard behind Bad Bunny read, “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.” While not necessarily revolutionary, the statement is still deeply moving in a time where simply speaking another language is seen as something to hate.
There was also a clear message of empowerment shown to future generations. By handing his recently won Grammy to a little version of himself watching the Grammys on TV and touching the top of his head, Bad Bunny displayed a beautiful gesture of what it means to take these great strides while others actively root against your existence.
Proclaiming the importance of this personal empowerment, Bad Bunny spoke up close to the camera in Spanish, “If I’m here today at the Super Bowl, it’s because I never ever stopped believing in myself,” he said and pointed at the camera, “You should too. You should believe in yourself too. You’re worth more than you think. Believe me.”
The “DtMF” artist ended his performance announcing in English, “God bless America,” followed by a procession of flags from each country in the Americas and his listing of each one. He ended by naming the United States and holding up a football that read, “Together, we are America.”
While it was contrary to what many expected, the statement was calm, simple and clear. The America that was being blessed were the continents of North and South America together. No country or territory left behind.
The response by many has been to question this, seemingly on the surface, tame show. People are beginning to ask, “What was so political about that?” Ironically, they are hitting on a significant point. In a country where speaking another language is considered probable cause to question your standing within it, performing an entire, widely anticipated show in Spanish and showcasing love, joy and empowerment in the face of these ideas is, in itself, true resistance.
