Latin superstar Bad Bunny has been confirmed as the halftime entertainment for February’s Super Bowl in Santa Clara, California. The news was revealed during Sunday night’s game between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys. The announcement comes as the Puerto Rican rapper, 31, admitted he avoided touring the U.S. after ongoing ICE raids. In an interview with i-D magazine earlier this month, the rapper admitted that the move was due to his concern about his audience members. “Like, f---ing ICE could be outside [my concert],” the rapper said. “And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.” He added, “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.” This year Bad Bunny’s “NUEVAYoL” music video featured a Trump-soundalike stating, “I want to apologize to the immigrants in America... I want to say that this country is nothing without the immigrants.” The Grammy winner, who endorsed Kamala Harris last year, told Rolling Stone in January he was planning to use his platform as one of the most popular musicians in the world to discuss politics. “People are used to artists getting big and mainstream and not expressing themselves about these things, or if they do, talking about it in a super careful way,” he said. “But I’m going to talk, and whoever doesn’t like it doesn’t have to listen to me.” The February 8 Super Bowl show will take place between Bad Bunny’s tour dates in Santiago and Buenos Aires. Last year’s Super Bowl performer was rapper Kendrick Lamar, who was joined by guests including SZA and Serena Williams. Bad Bunny previously performed as part of Jennifer Lopez and Shakira’s Super Bowl set in 2020. The new announcement shuts down persistent rumors from Taylor Swift fans that the pop superstar would get the nod in 2026.
