Jennifer Lopez defends Bad Bunny amid Super Bowl Halftime Show controversy
Jennifer Lopez doesn't understand why anyone would take issue with Bad Bunny headlining the Super Bowl Halftime Show.
Jennifer Lopez has defended Bad Bunny after he faced criticism for being chosen as the headliner of the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show.
News that the Puerto Rican rapper will perform at the NFL showpiece next February was met with fierce criticism, following his decision to exclude the US from his tour over concerns that immigration officials could be stationed outside his concerts amid President Donald Trump's crackdown on the issue.
Lopez - whose parents were born in Puerto Rico - headlined the Halftime Show in 2020 alongside Shakira. The 56-year-old singer believes people will be "pleasantly surprised" by Bad Bunny's performance and cannot understand why anyone would take issue with the booking.
Speaking on The Today Show, JLo reacted to the backlash: “Why? I don’t understand that. He’s one of the top artists in the world, probably the top. I’m super excited for people to see him who think that, because they’ll be pleasantly surprised. His music transcends language. It’s amazing what he’s done. He’s done something that people never done in their life. I’m excited for him […] He puts on a great show. He’s an amazing entertainer.”
While guest-hosting Saturday Night Live recently, Bad Bunny told his Super Bowl critics that they "have four months to learn Spanish" before his performance.
In his monologue, he said: "I'm really excited to be doing the Super Bowl, I know that people all around the world who love my music are also happy."
The Dakiti rapper then switched to his native language for 30 seconds before firing a message to his detractors.
He said in Spanish: "Especially all of the Latinos and Latinas in the world here in the United States who have worked to open doors. It's more than a win for myself, it's a win for all of us. Our footprints and our contribution in this country, no one will ever be able to take away or erase it."
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Bad Bunny - whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio - then joked that non-Spanish speakers will need to learn the language if they are to understand his performance.
The 31-year-old artist quipped: "If you didn't understand what I just said. You have four months to learn."
Trump's administration officials have suggested that NFL chiefs will regret their decision to choose Bad Bunny for the halftime show at the game in California.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said: "They suck, and we'll win, and God will bless us, and we'll stand and be proud of ourselves at the end of the day. They won't be able to sleep at night because they don't know what they believe, and they're so weak, we'll fix it."
She added: "The Department of Homeland Security is responsible for keeping it safe. So I have the responsibility for making sure everybody goes to the Super Bowl, has the opportunity to enjoy it and to leave, and that's what America is about."
Trump's advisor Corey Lewandowski stated that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials will be at the Super Bowl, irrespective of Bad Bunny's views.
He told The Benny Show: "There is nowhere you can provide safe haven to people who are in this country illegally.
"Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else. We will find you and apprehend you and put you in a detention facility, and deport you. Know that is a very real situation under this administration, which is contrary to how it used to be."
