This halftime show arrived amid ongoing debates about immigration and Latin representation in America. The NFL faced criticism for booking Bad Bunny, with conservative groups organizing counter programming and Homeland Security announcing ICE agents would be present at the game.
What This Lineup Means
Bad Bunny's choice of guests was assembled a group that represented different facets of Latin excellence:
- Ricky Martin: Singer and Actor , Icon
- Lady Gaga: The mainstream pop icon validating Latin music's cultural moment
- Karol G: The next generation carrying the movement forward
- Cardi B: The Afro-Latina who brought Latin trap to hip-hop's mainstream
- Pedro Pascal: Latin representation in Hollywood a
- Jessica Alba: Latin entrepreneurship, acting and business success
- Alix Earle: Digital culture and Gen Z influence
Ben Stiller, also on X, posted, “Incredible Half time show Bad Bunny”
Actress Kerry Washington was here for the “Benito Bowl,” dressed in a jersey that had the artist’s image. She posted on Threads, “I don’t know if I’ll ever recover from that… WHAT👏🏾A👏🏾SHOW👏🏾” and followed up with “That performance was the epitome of LOVE. And a wise man once said “the only thing more powerful than hate is LOVE” 🐰🇵🇷🏈.”
Camilla Cabello posted to her Instagram stories in Spanish, with an image of Bad Bunny from her TV: “That’s right! @badbunnypr Long live our beautiful Latin culture!!! And congratulations, Benito”
Elmo of Sesame Street made a post on social media calling Bad Bunny a “Good Bunny,” praising his performance: “That Bunny was AMAZING. Elmo thinks he should be called Good Bunny! Elmo loves you, Mr. Good Bunny!”
American rock singer John Mellencamp posted on socials, “I don’t know what Bad Bunny is saying, however, I do know he is standing up for Puerto Rico and I am standing up for him. His half time show was great.
JLO had brought out Bad Bunny as a guest during her Super Bowl performance six years ago. She wrote a post before his performance today, “@badbunnyPR…sending you all the love, positivity and the biggest hug in the world! We are all behind you tonight. I know that you are going to kill it! I am here with you the way you were there with me!,” the pop star wrote, mentioning their shared Puerto Rican ancestry and adding in Spanish, “Hit it hard, Benito! Like only you can!”
Rapper Dolechii posted on X, “Bad Bunny WOW ! Fucking, WOW . History.”
The new HYBE Latin America group, Santos Bravos, posted themselves dancing to the Puerto Rican artist’s “BAILE INoLVIDABLE,” in honor of his Super Bowl performance.
Colombian singer J. Balvin posted being at the Super Bowl, supporting his friend Bad Bunny, and dancing to the music. He captioned the video, “Latino f*ckin Gang!!!" in his Instagram stories.
Nick Jonas posted on his Instagram stories, alongside a photo of the performance on his TV, “Absolute pop star. Crushed it @badbunnypr.”
Singer Alex Warren posted a photo of himself with the words in Spanish, “It’s good, Benito,” across his face.
Dancing With The Stars winner Robert Irwin was present at the Super Bowl, posting his own video clip of Bad Bunny’s performance with the words “SO. GOOD.” across it in his Instagram stories.
Adam Sandler told Entertainment Tonight how much he loved his Happy Gilmore 2 costar Bad Bunny’s performance, “Oh, Benito was unbelievable. Loose, happy, made me everybody ecstatic. I loved it. Congrats to the Bunny. He’s a great human being.”
H.E.R. called it an “EMOTIONAL PERFORMANCE!” along with a long wow. Laufey posted, “I LOVE MUSIC MUSIC IS A UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE.♥️♥️
” Daniella and Lara of KATSEYE posted on their personal accounts the clips with positive emojis towards Bad Bunny.
Actress Xochitl Gomez called the clip of Bad Bunny’s “God Bless America” a “legendary moment.”
Actress Tracee Ellis Ross posted a clip of Bad Bunny’s performance on her Instagram stories, commenting: “INCREDIBLE. WOW” and “SO MOVED!!! YES. YES. YES.” She followed up with posts of support, along with a thirst post of the Puerto Rican performer.
American journalist Jim Acosta, who had dealt with the Trump administration many times, posted on Threads, “Halftime felt like hope to me. How about you? Maybe we are half way there. Gracias Bad Bunny. #halftime”
Josh Hutcherson, who doesn’t have social media, was recorded singing and grooving along to Bad Bunny’s performance. He smiles at the camera as he continues to jam to the music.
Actress Lisa Rinna posted a video of her dancing to Bad Bunny’s “NUEVAoL” with the caption: “I don’t sit still. Especially Not To Bad Bunny. #superbowl #badbunny ‘The only thing more powerful than hate, is LOVE’.”
