Bad Bunny will headline the halftime show at the Super Bowl in 2026. He is not the first Puerto Rican to take part in the Super Bowl, by any means. Players like Ron Rivera, Isiah Pacheco, and Victor Cruz celebrated their wins with Boricua style. Jennifer Lopez wowed audiences with “Born in the USA” and showed off U.S. and Puerto Rican flags in the 2020 halftime show.
But the choice of Bad Bunny for the 2026 halftime show has stirred up some surprising responses.
Continuing ignorance
Some reactions to Bad Bunny’s recognition show the continuing ignorance about Puerto Rico in the United States. Fortunately, the majority of Americans now realize that Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States and that Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens.
Unfortunately, there are still pockets of ignorance.
Social media speculations on this point have been quickly corrected. (We assume McFarlane meant “on cue.” His posts suggest that he may not be a native speaker of English.)
Un-American
Among those who know that Puerto Ricans are U.S. Citizens and perhaps even that Super Bowl performers do not have to be U.S. citizens, there are still objections. Many of the complaints center on the feeling that Bad Bunny is “un-American” or that “he hates America.” Some objections specify his political views, calling him “anti-Trump” or “anti-ICE.”
The Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is a special American custom, but it is also a commercial venture. Bad Bunny is currently the most-streamed musician in the world. The NFL not only likes to feature famous musicians in its halftime show, it also has been working to encourage people in other countries to follow the sport that is known in most of the world as “American football.” A global megastar makes an obvious good choice for the halftime show.
We agree with Bad Bunny that it is long past time to decolonize Puerto Rico. He doesn’t see statehood as the solution. In an interview, he said, “I’ve met a lot of gringos who come to me talking about Puerto Rico [becoming] a state like it’s something cool. And I tell them, ‘No, bro, it’s not like that. That’s not cool at all.’” We disagree. Guaranteed U.S. citizenship, the sovereignty of statehood, equal rights and justice for Puerto Rico — we think that’s cool. We may have different paths in mind, and we all have the right to our own opinions.
But the voters of Puerto Rico have spoken. In four status votes, in 2012, 2017, 2020, and 2024 — every vote in this century — Puerto Rico voters have chosen statehood. In a democracy, the majority of the votes determines the direction taken. For that reason, statehood is the right path to take. Congress has a responsibility to Puerto Rico to respect the vote. Remind your legislators!
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