NEW YORK — The NFL is not considering removing Bad Bunny as its Super Bowl halftime headline performer, Commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday, reaffirming the decision to keep the Grammy-winning Puerto Rican artist on the league’s biggest stage, which drew criticism from President Donald Trump and some of his supporters.
Goodell addressed the Bad Bunny controversy in his press conference following the NFL’s fall meetings. This is the first time he has commented on this The move was announced in late September which received worldwide attention, including an increase in streams of Bad Bunny’s music as well as a response.
“This has been carefully considered,” Goodell said. “I’m not sure we’ve ever done an artist show where we didn’t get some blowback or criticism. It’s very hard to do that when you have literally millions of people watching it.”
Born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, the 31-year-old has been vocal in his opposition to Trump and his policies. Citing concerns about mass deportation of Latinos, he decided to take a 31-day residence in Puerto Rico, avoiding a stop in the mainland US.
He performs in Spanish and is expected to do so at the Super Bowl.
“We’re confident it’s going to be a great show,” Goodell said. “He understands the platform he’s on, and I think it’s going to be an exciting and unifying moment.”
Super Bowl LX will be held on February 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. It’s unclear whether Trump plans to be there, although he has made in-person appearances at major sporting events a key part of his second term in the White House.
In an interview on the conservative news network Newsmax, Trump said he had “never heard” of Bad Bunny.
“I don’t know who that is,” Trump said. “I don’t know why they’re doing that. It’s crazy. And then they blame it on some promoter they hired for entertainment. I think that’s absolutely ridiculous.”
Goodell defended the decision on Wednesday, saying the decision was made because of Bad Bunny’s immense popularity.
“He is one of the world’s leading and most popular entertainers,” Goodell said. “That’s what we try to achieve. This is an important stage for us. It’s an important element of entertainment value.”
