Six-time Grammy Award-winning Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny is taking the stage at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara for the 60th Super Bowl this Sunday.
It’s no secret that we’re currently in a politically heavy climate, especially considering the recent ramp-up in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in local cities.
What makes Bad Bunny’s performance so special is the fact that he is actively representing the very communities that President Donald Trump wants to remove from the United States.
At the 68th Annual Grammy Awards, Bad Bunny made history, winning Album of the Year for “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS”(DtMF), the first Spanish-language album to be recognized in that category. He also won the Grammy for the Best Música Urbana Album.
In his acceptance speech, he dedicated the award to immigrants around the world and called out ICE, along with several other award winners like Billie Eilish and Olivia Dean. Other Grammy attendees also spoke out by wearing anti-ICE pins like Justin and Hailey Bieber.
“Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say ICE out,” he said at the Grammys. “We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens, we’re humans.”
When Bad Bunny was first announced as the halftime headliner, the NFL received major backlash due to his perceived political leanings.
USA Today reported that when Joe Biden was president, he allowed him to use his music in ads. Then, when former Vice President Kamala Harris ran for president in 2024, he publicly endorsed her.
Bad Bunny also vowed he would not have a U.S. tour in 2025 for the DTMF album because he knew his primary audience was Hispanic or Latino, and feared that ICE raids would occur at his concerts.
“There were many reasons why I didn’t show up in the US, and none of them were out of hate—I’ve performed there many times,” he said in an interview with i-D magazine. “But there was the issue of—like, f—ing ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
This performance will mark his second appearance on the Super Bowl stage, the first in 2020, as a guest artist for headliners Shakira and Jennifer Lopez.
Bad Bunny will be preceded by punk-rock band Green Day as the Super Bowl’s opening act, a decision that was announced after the NFL’s criticism of Bad Bunny’s selection.
The opposition to Green Day’s performance stems from the band’s vocal anti-MAGA stance.
In the band’s most popular song, “American Idiot”, one of the lines says, “Well, maybe I’m the f—t, America — I’m not a part of a redneck agenda.” The band has changed the lyric in some of its performances to “I’m not a part of the MAGA agenda.”
This song is the most anticipated of their performance, as AOL reported that it reentered music charts following the announcement.
Online commenters on Reddit and TikTok begged for an “American” performer, which is bizarre considering Bad Bunny is an American citizen, and months later, announced Green Day as the openers in response.
This once again enraged people who are MAGA aligned.
However, the NFL has stood by its decision since the announcement, because the organization said it recognized Bad Bunny’s fame.
“And then I think everybody was just kind of like, ‘OK, we’re going to get on board, because the goal is global reach,’” an executive said to ESPN. “And this guy has a massive global reach.”
Bad Bunny and Green Day will take the stage as the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots battle for the NFL title with kick-off at 3:30 p.m. The game and performances can be watched on NBC.
