The NFL has done Americans and global fans a disservice by choosing Bad Bunny as the headliner for the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show. The decision deepens divisions in our nation when unity is needed.
The Puerto Rican pop star is undoubtedly talented and culturally significant, but his hyper-politicized stance, vocal advocacy of gender fluidity, and his hypocrisy make him an inappropriate choice for what could be a unifying celebration of excitement and athletic wonder.
Bad Bunny’s political persona is unmistakably charged. He is openly hostile to current efforts to rebuild and recover from years of lawlessness at the border. Bad Bunny famously declined to tour American venues for his 2025-2026 tour, citing fears that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents might be present at his concerts and cause disruptions for his largely Latino and immigrant fan base. Artists, of course are free to choose when, were, and if they feel like performing.
What About the Safety of ICE Agents?
The safety of fans is a valid concern, but this stance is expressed in aggressive politics overtly hostile to the American efforts of the United States to restore and rebuild healthy immigration traditions. Immigration is a preeminent point of contention in American politics today, even to the point that ICE agents are being murdered in cold blood on our streets.
Despite this refusal to perform extensively in the U.S., Bad Bunny accepted the Super Bowl gig, to garner the fame and lucrative exposure that comes with such a major American event. His career strategy embraces American platforms selectively, prioritizing personal gain over principles or consistency.
Queering the Culture
A second prominent dimension of Bad Bunny’s politics is his strong public advocacy of gender fluidity. Bad Bunny performs in women’s dresses and skirts, women’s makeup, and feminine attire, and during his stage performances, undermines healthy norms of masculinity, especially within the Latino and reggaeton culture.
Pushing anti-normitivity and anti traditional family morality is anybody’s free choice. We all know there are communities who consider this progressive and important. I say, have at it. But again, the simple fact is that this intentional challenge to wholesome cultural attitudes establishes Bad Bunny as a divisive figure. The NFL is picking sides in the culture war.
A national event broadcast to tens of millions of Americans, and perhaps billions of viewers worldwide is not the place to pick at political scabs. We need events at which we can relax for a moment and be happy together.
An Iconic Event
The Super Bowl represents more than football; it is an iconic American event that transcends sports. It is one of the rare occasions where young and old across generations gather as families to celebrate not just wondrous athletics but also our gratitude for the greatness and spirit of American life itself. It is a night to embrace each other and be excited together. It is the wrong time for cultural provocation.
This event should offer broadly enjoyable fare for all ages, where parents and children can feel at ease together enjoying sport, entertainment, and camaraderie. To many families, it is an annual ritual of fun and bonding.
Inviting Bad Bunny, a figure whose recent actions and messaging are widely perceived as counter to American unity and who openly opposes significant aspects of American governance, is a remarkably irresponsible choice by NFL leadership. It risks turning a cherished national moment into a platform for political and cultural division. It amplifies the fault lines in an already fractured society rather than knitting Americans closer together. NFL officials, by prioritizing headline-grabbing controversy over national harmony, not only betray the hopes of American families but also collapse the Super Bowl’s chance to be a good influence and beacon for viewers.
Provoking Family Arguments
To be clear, Bad Bunny is likely talented. Many view him as important and positive. As an individual, he may well be personable and professional. But talent and charisma do not inherently qualify one to headline an event that has a chance to unify a tense nation. Leaders organizing America’s “biggest night” in sports and entertainment bear a profound responsibility to avoid injecting further divisiveness. Sadly, this decision places extra strain on a society already struggling to reconcile our differences.
Bad Bunny embodies progressive cultural winds and is a dynamic artist, but his political antagonism toward U.S. immigration enforcement, avoidance of American venues when inconvenient, advocacy of controversial gender norms, and the contentious cultural debates that surround him make him ill-suited for the Super Bowl halftime stage. This event should bring us together, not sow discord. The NFL is doing harm.
A boycott should not be against an entertainer, who like them all, is somehow yet another a great political expert and genius. Bad Bunny, Richard Geere, George Clooney. Say your piece. Dance your dance. Good luck. The boycott should be against the NFL corporation, which due either to its blindness or its greed is willing to exploit and alienate its supporters and harm a nation it should serve.
Frank Kaufmann is president of The Settlement Project, and author of Woke Ideology Critique and Counter Proposal.
