NFL Confidently Stands By Bad Bunny Amid Super Bowl Criticism

With the continued uproar over Bad Bunny headlining the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show, the NFL has one clear response – Bad Bunny will take the stage, come what may.

Over time, Super Bowl headliner announcements have often sparked controversy, but none quite compare to the frenzy that followed the announcement of the Puerto Rican artist’s selection earlier in September. The announcement drew sharp reactions even from Donald Trump and several other other conservatives.

For the primary time for the reason that backlash began, the football organization has spoken out in defense of the artist. 

During a press conference on the NFL’s fall meeting on October 22, Commissioner Roger Goodell addressed the growing criticism over the choice, making it clear that regardless, Bad Bunny would take the league’s biggest stage come 2026.

“It’s rigorously thought through,” Goodell defended the choice, adding that the controversies were expected.

“I’m undecided we have ever chosen an artist where we did not have some blowback or criticism,” he said. “It’s pretty hard to do when you’ve gotten literally a whole lot of tens of millions of those that are watching.”

While reaffirming the pick, Goodell revealed that they “are confident” the Grammy-winning artist would deliver an excellent performance. “He understands the platform that he’s on,” Goodell said, per Entertainment Weekly. “And I believe it’ll be exciting and a united moment.”

The NFL’s response comes two days after critics made a daring move to ensure that the “Monaco” singer is faraway from the upcoming show with a petition. 

Over 50,000 signatures have been collected on a Change.org petition demanding that the football association axe the 31-year-old singer, arguing that he doesn’t represent traditional American values.

Moderately than Bad Bunny, the supporters are pushing for country legend George Strait to take his place, claiming he higher reflects “the guts and soul of American music,” and appeals to all generations, as The Blast reported.

The request further claimed that the halftime show must be an avenue to have a good time American heritage and never be become a political stunt. 

Alongside the petition, The Blast previously reported that Charlie Kirk’s nonprofit organization, Turning Point USA (TPUSA), is planning to arrange a rival event on the identical day because the Super Bowl, seemingly in protest of Bad Bunny’s selection. 

TPUSA tagged the event “The All-American Halftime Show,” and would concentrate on and pay tribute to faith, family, and freedom. 

Details on the organization’s website showed that they asked fans to vote on which songs they’d prefer to hear. Taking a jab on the “I Like It” collaborator’s sort of singing in Spanish, a top reference on the choices list stated “Anything in English.”

Because the criticism continued to pour in, Trump joined in sharing his disapproval of the three-time Grammy winner  on the large stage when he made a guest appearance on NewsMax’s “Greg Kelly Reports.”

Based on The Blast, host Kelly asked the president to share his thoughts as she began by stating to Trump that the singer has spoken out against ICE and infrequently labels things he disagrees with as “racist.”

Trump responded by saying he didn’t know who Bad Bunny was and had never heard of him. The U.S. leader then took the chance to slam the show’s organizers, calling its decision “absolutely ridiculous.”

Fueling further debate over whether the singer should perform on football’s biggest night, Bad Bunny drew more attention after he appeared to stay seated during a rendition of “God Bless America” at a recent baseball game.

As The Blast reported, a circulating clip showed the artist sitting with friends within the stands during a matchup between the Latest York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays.

While the group stood to sing the patriotic tune, particularly in the course of the line “stand beside her and guide her,” Bad Bunny was seen remaining seated. MAGA supporters have since condemned his actions, calling them unpatriotic and disrespectful.