The hoopla continues over Bad Bunny’s upcoming Super Bowl halftime performance.
In response to Entertainment Weekly, a petition has begun on Change.org to swap the Puerto Rican superstar for country singer George Strait. The petition, began by someone named “Kar Shell,” has greater than 50,000 signatures and encourages the NFL to drag Bad Bunny, 31, from the 2026 broadcast — perpetually the most-watched event on network television — and replace the favored entertainer with Strait, who’s 73 and dubbed the “King of Country Music” by fans of the genre.
The petition complains that the Halftime Show “has leaned increasingly towards modern pop and international artists. While this approach actually broadens the audience, it’s pivotal to recollect the roots which have made American music what it’s today.”
Earlier this month, Bad Bunny addressed the controversy while hosting Saturday Night Live, saying during his monologue, “It’s possible you’ll not know this but I’m doing the Super Bowl Halftime Show. I’m very comfortable and I believe everyone may be very comfortable about it! Even Fox News…”
He added: “Really, I’m very excited to be doing the Super Bowl and I do know people all all over the world who love my music are also comfortable.”
After briefly speaking in Spanish, he quipped: “In the event you didn’t understand now what I just said, you’ve gotten 4 months to learn!”
Jennifer Lopez praised Bad Bunny during an October 6 interview on the Today show.
“I believe he’s about to blow everybody’s mind,” Lopez, 56, predicted of his Super Bowl spot. “It’s an introduction to some people.”
She said she hadn’t heard of any backlash against him until host Craig Melvin mentioned it.
“I swear I don’t know,” she said. “Why? But why? I don’t understand that. He’s one in all the highest artists on this planet straight away, probably the highest.”
When Melvin, 46, explained that some critics think a distinct artist should perform during football’s biggest night, Lopez responded, “It may very well be quite a lot of different people. That’s the thing. I’m super-excited for people to see him. I believe they’ll be pleasantly surprised, because his music transcends language. It’s amazing what he’s done. He’s done something that quite a lot of people have never done of their life.”
The day that Lopez appeared on the NBC morning show, President Donald Trump criticized Bad Bunny and the NFL in a Newsmax interview.
“I never heard of him,” he claimed. “I don’t know who he’s, I don’t know why they’re doing it, it’s crazy, after which they blame it on some promoter that they hired to select up entertainment, I believe it’s absolutely ridiculous.”
The following day, Bad Bunny was spotted sitting behind home plate at Yankee Stadium, watching the Latest York Yankees play the Toronto Blue Jays.
Within the second inning, a foul ball flew up into the air and landed right in his lap. He smiled and raised the ball, and the gang went wild.
One fan on X marveled in the meanwhile, writing, “Even the baseballs wanna collab with him now 😎🎤.”