Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, better known to the world as Bad Bunny, took the stage during one of the most controversial Super Bowl halftime shows in recent history as the NFL’s first solo Spanish-language headliner. Bad Bunny did not just take the stage in San Francisco as a performer, but as an activist against the current American administration. However, as predicted, this created pushback from Turning Point USA (TPUSA) and its followers. Following this, TPUSA made its own halftime show, called the “All-American Halftime Show.”
The “All-American Halftime Show” starred Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett, with a brief speech by Pete Hegseth, the United States Secretary of Defense. The TPUSA broadcast began its coverage at 7:30 p.m. ET, with the musical performances starting around 8 p.m. ET. This was supposed to be aligned with the end of the second quarter of the Super Bowl. It did not stop in time for the start of the second half of the football game, which means that the people who were watching the TPUSA halftime show would’ve also been navigating the other show to ensure that they wouldn’t miss any of the game. “Changing back from the TPUSA halftime show to the NFL game became annoying and ruined the fun for both the game and the halftime show,” sophomore Kamran Vahedi said.
The TPUSA show’s name, “All-American Halftime Show,” was chosen in reference to the star the NFL had commissioned, Bad Bunny. Bad Bunny is a Puerto Rican-born American who speaks Spanish as his first language. This shows itself in the music he creates, which is predominantly in Spanish. As a result, the growing climate around immigrants in the country’s political scene led to a response from TPUSA. The Super Bowl is the most-watched event in the country, and TPUSA was not going to allow a Spanish-speaking artist to take the main stage of America.
The Super Bowl halftime show did not change in response to the backlash over the artist’s choice. Bad Bunny, Lady Gaga, and Ricky Martin still all performed, and actors Pedro Pascal and Jessica Alba, as well as artists Cardi B, Karol G, and Young Miko, were seen during the performance. The show lasted for 13 minutes in the middle of the second and third quarters of the game. Bad Bunny performed “Tití Me Preguntó” as the opening, “Yo Perreo Sola,” “Safaera Party,” “Voy A Llevarte Pa’ PR,” “EaO,” “MONACO,” and “Die With a Smile” with Lady Gaga. This show set a new record for current viewership, reaching over 142.3 million viewers. “The Super Bowl halftime show and the TPUSA show were both equally good, but I enjoyed the Super Bowl one better because I didn’t have to switch back and forth,” sophomore Jack Sisco said.
The TPUSA and the Super Bowl halftime show both targeted and found their respective audiences, exceeding both of their expectations. The opinions of die-hard football fans found it annoying that the country and football itself were split, as there was both the sadness of seeing the most popular event in America fall into political polarization, and the annoyance of having to choose one. “The amount of drama the two halftime shows have created is unnecessary, and I don’t really care about either one. I watch it because it’s on, not because I want to, and I don’t think it really matters that he is speaking Spanish,” freshman Grant Scofield said.
