(AFP) – Supporters of President Donald Trump, including a senior White House official, have lashed out after Latin megastar Bad Bunny was named as the headliner for next year’s Super Bowl halftime show. The Grammy-winning Puerto Rican rapper had already sparked right-wing ire after saying he would skip the United States during his upcoming world tour due to fears of immigration raids at his concerts.
But Trump’s Make America Great Again movement was doubly infuriated by the naming on Sunday of an artist who mainly sings in Spanish as the star performer for the NFL’s flagship event in February. “Is the @NFL incapable of reading the room?” Sebastian Gorka, Trump’s Senior Director for Counter Terrorism, posted on X late Monday after the announcement. Gorka’s comment accompanied a post by a conservative podcaster calling Bad Bunny “a rapper with a catalog of vulgar lyrics in Spanish and English” — including one aimed at Trump.
Former racing driver turned right-wing commentator Danica Patrick said separately on X: “No songs in English should not be allowed at one of America’s highest rated television events of the year.” Sage Steele, a former host on sports network ESPN who appeared in the White House’s “new media” seat at a briefing earlier this year, called Bad Bunny “DEMONIC” and added: “NFL…I just don’t get it.”
The artist himself said in a statement released by the NFL that his naming as Super Bowl halftime act was “for my people, my culture, and our history.” Puerto Rico, where Bad Bunny hails from, is a US territory in the Caribbean. In June, Bad Bunny posted video footage on his social media channels from an ICE raid that took place on his home island.
Super Bowl halftime shows have traditionally attracted the biggest names in the music industry, including the likes of Michael Jackson, the Rolling Stones, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Prince, and Paul McCartney. More recent performers have included this past year’s headliner Kendrick Lamar, the rapper who cut out profanity but still performed a viral diss track of his rival Drake.
© 2024 AFP
