NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Refuses To Remove Bad Bunny As The 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show Performer
Football season is in full swing, and that means that many NFL fans and players are not only super focused on upcoming games, but are getting more excited for the upcoming Super Bowl, which is set to take place in February at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Although it's still unclear as to which teams will be playing the prestigious event, at the end of September, the NFL announced that the Super Bowl Halftime show performer, a coveted position, would be none other than the famous Latin music artist, Bad Bunny. The singer and rapper has had a super busy and successful year so far, with viral performances on shows like Saturday Night Live and a famous residency in his home island of Puerto Rico. Despite his massive fame, many NFL fans expressed disdain at the choice, given that the majority of the artist's music is performed in Spanish.
Many football fans began to threaten to "boycott" the halftime show, citing that it wouldn't be 'American enough,' despite the 31-year-old being from a U.S. territory. For weeks, the NFL as a whole has faced severe backlash, even some from the president himself, for the decision, causing the NFL commissioner to defend his choice in a new statement following the league's fall meeting.
"It's carefully thought through," he said. "I'm not sure we've ever selected an artist where we didn't have some blowback or criticism. It's pretty hard to do when you have literally hundreds of millions of people who are watching. We're confident it's going to be a great show. He understands the platform that he's on, and I think it's going to be exciting and a united moment."
NFL Fans React To Roger's Latest Halftime Show Statement
Once the commissioner, who has been with the league for almost 20 years, made his updated statement about how he felt about Bad Bunny performing at the halftime show, whether he sings and raps entirely in Spanish or not, there were some mixed reactions online.
Even if the artist wasn't their first choice for the coveted televised performance, some football fans have come to accept the choice, even getting excited to see what he has in store for his exciting show. However, there are still numerous football viewers out there who are upset with Goodell for not changing his mind and are even threatening to turn their televisions off in the middle of the big event.
"Drop Goodell," wrote an angry NFL fan on Instagram, as another wrote that he's "ruining his career."
"It will be the least watched halftime show in history," commented a user.
"Nobody is going to watch," threatened another.
"Having Bad Bunny is not representing American culture," added a user.
While fans may continue to complain and threaten not to watch this year's show, it looks like the NFL is confident in its chosen headliner, and we're excited to see what the controversial performance has in store.