This coming Monday, millions around the world will tune in to watch the Super Bowl, as the New England Patriots take on the Seattle Seahawks.
Perhaps equally as celebrated as the championship game is the halftime show. Fresh from winning Album of the Year at the Grammys, Bad Bunny will headline this year’s performance.
The 2026 Super Bowl comes at a time of heightened social and political tensions in the U.S, following recent anti-Immigration violence.
Anticipation is building around how the Puerto Rican artist will address the moment.
Context
The Super Bowl is the annual U.S. National Football League (NFL) championship.
The 2025 Super Bowl was the most-watched broadcast in American television history, with an average of 127.7 million viewers in the U.S alone.
As popular as the actual game is, the halftime show has become a major cultural touchstone in its own right, with previous performances from Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Usher, Beyoncé and Janet Jackson.
Bad Bunny
The NFL announced Bad Bunny as its Super Bowl halftime headliner in September.
The rapper/singer is one of the most popular musical performers in the world. In 2025, he was the most-streamed global artist on Spotify.
He has also been a vocal critic of U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. The artist has previously expressed concerns about touring the U.S, over fears Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents would attempt to arrest Latino fans at his concerts.
Despite his global success, news that Bad Bunny would headline the Super Bowl halftime show drew criticism from conservative commentators and political figures.
Following the announcement, Trump told conservative U.S. news outlet Newsmax he had "never heard of" Bad Bunny and called the choice "absolutely ridiculous."
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said ICE agents would be present at the Super Bowl. However, NFL chief security officer Cathy Lanier has since stated she is “confident” that “there are no planned ICE enforcement activities” for game day.
Past controversies
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It’s not the first time a Super Bowl halftime act has sparked political debate.
Last year, Kendrick Lamar used his set to deliver several powerful political statements — even bringing out actor Samuel L. Jackson to play a parodied version of “Uncle Sam”.
In 2020, Jennifer Lopez refused to cut a moment from her set, where her daughter was shown singing from inside a cage. Lopez later confirmed the cage symbol was a comment about U.S. immigration policies.
ICE at the Grammys
Anti-ICE sentiment has spiked in recent weeks, following widespread crackdowns and the killing of two American citizens by ICE agents in Minnesota.
Several artists condemned ICE during this week’s Grammy Awards.
Bad Bunny dedicated his Album of the Year win to “all the people who had to leave their homeland, their country, to follow their dreams.”
Accepting the award for Best Música Urbana Album, he also said: “ICE out!“
Super Bowl 2026
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has stood by the Super Bowl headliner.
In a press conference on Monday, he called Bad Bunny “one of the great artists in the world”.
Regarding concerns about political messaging during the halftime show, Goodell emphasised that Bad Bunny “understood the platform he was on and [its power] to unite people”.
Conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA (founded by the late Charlie Kirk) has planned its own “All-American Halftime Show”.
The group announced they will live-stream the alternative performance, headlined by Kid Rock, when Bad Bunny takes to the stage at San Francisco’s Levi’s Stadium.
Australians can watch Super Bowl LX via Foxtel, Kayo and Disney+ on Monday 9 February from 10am (AEDT).
