NFL Commish Stands Firm on Bad Bunny Halftime Show Amid Conservative Backlash: ‘One of the Great Artists in the World’

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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday stood firm in the decision to make Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny the Super Bowl Halftime Show performer.

In September, the league announced that Bad Bunny would headline the halftime show. That decision was met with immediate backlash from conservatives, with many pointing to his previous criticisms of the Trump administration. His last tour notably excluded stops in the U.S., and Bad Bunny explained that he feared ICE agents would harass his fans at the shows.

President Donald Trump’s administration has also criticized the NFL. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) called it a “terrible decision” to make Bad Bunny the halftime performer; and the president himself said he has no intention on attending the Super Bowl.

During Sunday’s Grammy Awards, Bad Bunny spoke out against ICE’s activities while accepting the award for Best Música Urbana Album.

The next day at Goodell’s Super Bowl press conference, the commissioner was asked if he had any concern about Bad Bunny potentially using the halftime show to make a political statement. In response, Goodell reaffirmed his support for the artist when he said:

Listen, Bad Bunny is — and I think that was demonstrated last night — one of the great artists in the world, and that’s one of the reasons we chose him. But the other reason is he understood the platform he was on, and that this platform is used to unite people and to be able to bring people together with their creativity, with their talents, and to be able to use this moment to do that. And I think artists in the past have done that. I think Bad Bunny understands that, and I think he’ll have a great performance.

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