# Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Sparks Cultural Debate

**Source**: https://anthro.ucla.edu/2026/02/10/bad-bunnys-super-bowl-halftime-show-sparks-cultural-debate/
**Parent**: https://anthro.ucla.edu/

Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny headlined the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show on Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, California, marking the first time a Latino solo artist performed almost entirely in Spanish on the NFL’s biggest entertainment stage. The show celebrated Latino culture and ended with the message “Together we are America,” while showcasing flags from across the Americas and emphasizing unity and love.

The performance quickly ignited a nationwide cultural and political dispute. Former President Donald Trump denounced the show as “absolutely terrible” and an “affront to the Greatness of America,” criticizing its language choices and calling it unrepresentative of U.S. values. Conservative commentators and groups also pushed back, with some organizing an alternative “All-American Halftime Show” livestreamed concurrently.

H. Samy Alim, a professor of anthropology and faculty director of the UCLA Hip Hop Initiative, said objections to the upcoming performance, specifically over language and identity, are more pronounced because Bad Bunny is encouraging other Americans to “expand their boundaries” in ways that often make many feel uncomfortable.

“Bad Bunny represents that kind of linguistic threat,” Alim said. “He’s a person of color, and he also is someone who plays with gender and sexuality in ways that are very accepting of the queer community. In other words, he’s seen as someone who is a connector to many of the communities that they have already constructed as threats to the United States.”

You can read more [here](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/02/06/bad-bunny-super-bowl-maga-trump-ice/88384751007/)