If This Isn’t American, What Is? Bad Bunny and the Super Bowl Culture Clash

Audrey Owens

On Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, America came together for the one thing the country has always agreed on: football. This year, though, was different. The Super Bowl halftime show, performed by artist Bad Bunny, sparked controversy and division, as well as an interesting conversation about what it means to be American. 

Save for one line, the performance was sung entirely in Spanish, with only a short song in English from guest artist Lady Gaga. Despite the language barrier, according to ESPN, Bad Bunny’s halftime show averaged 128.2 million viewers, making it the fourth-most-watched show, topped only by Usher, Michael Jackson and Kendrick Lamar. 

Most of the controversy surrounding the matter stemmed from the idea that America’s most widely televised event should have an equally American musical performance, with a portion of the country believing that a Spanish-language performance was not American enough. 

With the country half in outrage, a separate performance held by conservative organization, Turning Point USA, headlined by Kid Rock, occurred at the same time as Bad Bunny’s. The people that tuned into that show tended to view Bad Bunny as a foreigner and therefore unfit to perform at an American event.  

Hispanic Americans should never have to feel alienated or ashamed of their culture. The fact that there was a separate halftime show to begin with is, quite frankly, unacceptable. We should be supporting everyone in the country regardless of background, not defining one language or race as “American”. 

President Donald Trump fueled the fire, saying the Super Bowl performance was “one of the worst, ever,” and that “no one understands a word this guy is saying.” The visceral reaction from the President is fascinating, considering Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, where Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio or Bad Bunny was born and raised, which makes him an American citizen. 

Despite Trump’s insistence that the sets made no sense, they hold symbolic weight. From the sugarcane fields representing the country’s labor history to the sparking electrical poles referencing outages caused by the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, the entirety of the performance was meticulously thought out. 

Regardless of whether people choose to appreciate it, it was a culturally significant moment. Across various platforms of social media, like Instagram and TikTok, it was clear that people from less recognized countries like Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guyana, were excited to see their culture being shouted out. 

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion about music, but the reasoning that the performance was in Spanish and therefore un-American is an objectively racist view. Being American is about unity, not the physical traits that separate us.