The New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks will face off in Super Bowl LX in a little less than two weeks. And while there is excitement about the action that will happen on the field, controversy is swirling about the Super Bowl halftime show.
Music artist Bad Bunny will be the featured entertainment for the 2026 Apple Music Super Bowl halftime show—a 12- to 15-minute slot that could be seen by over 100 million people. The rapper has reportedly decided to use the opportunity to promote and honor Latin “queer icons.”
Anonymous sources told Radar Online that Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, views his performance as an opportunity to pay homage to “generations of drag, resistance and cultural rebellion.”
“He loves controversy. He lives to push envelopes,” one stylist told the outlet. The source noted that Ocasio would be wearing a dress during the performance, which was described as a “political thunderbolt disguised as couture.”
“He’s not playing it safe. The NFL has no idea what’s coming. Zero,” another source said.
Bad Bunny is widely known for his lyrics that are often sexually explicit. Yet, he is a three-time Grammy Award winner and has been the top-streamed artist on Spotify for four consecutive years, with over 19.8 billion streams last year alone.
As CBN News reported, there were calls to boycott this year’s halftime performance as soon as Ocasio was announced as the featured performer. Worship leader Cory Asbury and Christian artist Forrest Frank pitched an idea to host an alternative half-time show that glorifies Jesus. Turning Point USA also jumped on board with the idea of creating an alternative show.
Although Frank and Asbury were not able to get anything off the ground, and TPUSA has remained tight-lipped about who will be their entertainment line-up, there are calls from many conservatives and Christians urging people to turn off their televisions during Bad Bunny’s show.
Christian social influencer Jon Root criticized the NFL for focusing on political and cultural messaging.
“NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said having Bad Bunny perform in the first place was ‘carefully thought through.’ He also said it would create a ‘unified moment.’ What are we going to unify on?” Root asked.
“Gender delusion? Anti-God ideology? Anti-Trump and anti-ICE,” he questioned. “This will go down as the worst Super Bowl halftime show in the history of the league. If you are not already boycotting, you should.”
Samuel Short, a writer for the Western Journal, points out that Ocasio’s choice to perform in a dress is not surprising but reflects the social and spiritual decline in America.
“Wearing drag, being ‘queer,’ and just generally acting like what would be considered strange 20 years ago is now the most normal manner of behaving,” Short wrote. “He isn’t railing against the establishment; he’s just trying to put off the NFL’s conservative audience…”
“Families and children watching at home, should they tune in, will now be subjected to the spectacle of a man in a dress,” he continued. “A truly norm-breaking performance would be one without any social commentary or political messaging — left or right — at all.”
Meanwhile, Turning Point USA confirmed to TMZ that they plan to host their own halftime show, although the lineup is not confirmed.
“The All-American Halftime Show” will air on DailyWire, OAN, National News Desks, plus TPUSA streaming platforms on February 8.
Aubrey Laitsch, public relations manager for TPUSA, told the outlet the show is “100 percent on,” but fans will have to tune in live to see who is performing.
