His remarks followed a wave of online backlash, much of which centered on the fact that Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, performs primarily in Spanish and hails from Puerto Rico. Residents of the island have been U.S. citizens since 1917. Bad Bunny, 31, recently performed in his home country during his No Me Quiero Ir De Aquí residency at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico in July.
The controversy was further fueled by Bad Bunny's previous decision not to bring his record-breaking Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour to the U.S. due to the Trump administration's aggressive immigration policies and the deployment of ICE agents. In a September interview with i-D magazine, the artist explained, "There were many reasons why I didn't show up in the U.S., and none of them were out of hate. I've performed there many times. All of them have been successful. All of them have been magnificent." He added that he was concerned about immigration enforcement, saying, "It's something that we were talking about and very concerned about."
After the Super Bowl announcement, Bad Bunny posted on X that he would perform "for my people, my culture, and our history," joking on Saturday Night Live that critics have "four months to learn" Spanish before the show. Days later, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated that ICE agents would "be all over" Super Bowl LX to ensure security, emphasizing that only "law-abiding Americans" should attend. She concluded by criticizing the NFL, saying, "We'll fix it."
