Fury as NFL releases all-Spanish first teaser for Bad Bunny’s controversial Super Bowl halftime show

Many football fans have reacted angrily after the NFL posted an initial teaser for Bad Bunny’s controversial Super Bowl halftime show.

The Puerto Rican artist was named as the performer for next month’s end-of-season finale in San Francisco – despite fierce opposition. 

On Friday, the NFL posted a promo for the show alongside a caption in Spanish: ‘El 8 de febrero, el mundo bailará’ (On February 8, the world will dance).’

President Donald Trump was among those to criticize the decision to allow Bad Bunny to perform at Super Bowl LX and Friday’s post also sparked a backlash from many NFL fans on social media. 

‘So tone deaf,’ one wrote under the 75-second clip, which shows Bad Bunny and others dancing along to his hit BAILE INoLVIDABLE (Unforgettable Dance). ‘I will turn it off.’

‘No thanks,’ said another, while others said they ‘will not watch’ and would instead take a ‘bathroom break’ during halftime. 

Back in November, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell defended the decision to choose Bad Bunny – real name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio – to perform.

‘He’s one of the leading and most popular [artists] in the world. That’s what we try to achieve,’ Goodell said at the NFL’s league meetings. 

‘It’s an important stage for us, an important element to the entertainment value. It’s carefully thought through. I think it’s going to be an exciting and a united moment.’

The NFL chose Bad Bunny with the help of Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and the latter also responded to the criticism late last year. ‘Don’t let them fool you,’ Jay-Z said.

But Trump called the decision ‘crazy and ‘absolutely ridiculous,’ while one of his supporters argued Bad Bunny ‘seems to hate America.’ 

‘I [have] never heard of him, I don’t know who he is, I don’t know why they’re doing it,’ the President said.

Trump’s ally, Corey Lewandowski previously claimed ‘it’s so shameful they picked someone who seems to hate America.’

Lewandowski also confirmed that ICE agents will be patrolling San Francisco during the Super Bowl. 

‘There is nowhere you can provide safe haven to people who are in this country illegally,’ he said. ‘Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else. We will find and deport you. That is a very real situation.’ 

The rapper previously cited ICE agents as a reason he did not include any mainland US dates for his tour. And even the speaker of the House of Representatives said the Puerto Rican – among the most streamed artists on Spotify – was a ‘terrible’ choice. 

‘It sounds like he’s not someone who appeals to a broader audience and there are so many eyes on the Super Bowl – a lot of young, impressionable children,’ Mike Johnson said. 

 

 

 

 

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