Because even music has turned into team sports, Turning Point USA has announced that it will be hosting its own Super Bowl halftime show in protest of the NFL’s official headliner, Bad Bunny.
The right-wing organization, which was founded by the late Charlie Kirk, posted about its “All American Halftime Show” on social media, writing, “Performers and event details coming soon.” The post links to a survey that allows people to select which music genres they would like to be featured at the big game, including “Anything in English,” “Americana” and “Worship.” (It also lists “Hip Hop,” despite Kirk once advocating for people to “stop listening to rap music and this degenerate hip-hop stuff.”)
It’s unclear how and where Turning Point’s counterprogramming will be aired, but viewers would have to turn off the Super Bowl broadcast and switch to the “All American Halftime Show,” which will celebrate “faith, family and freedom,” according to the website.
The announcement that Bad Bunny, one of the most famous music stars in the world, will perform at the 2026 Super Bowl sparked an immediate right-wing backlash. Government officials began weighing in on the Puerto Rican artist’s Spanish-language music catalog and his recent comments about skipping the United States on his last tour due to fears about his fans encountering ICE agents.
Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, said immigration enforcement agents would be “all over” the Super Bowl because, in her belief, the only people who should be attending the game are “law-abiding Americans who love this country.” House Speaker Mike Johnson said booking Bad Bunny was “a terrible decision,” suggesting that Lee Greenwood would attract a “broader audience,” despite the 1980s country icon boasting fewer than 500,000 Spotify listeners compared with Bad Bunny’s 80 million. Even Donald Trump called the Bad Bunny selection “absolutely ridiculous” despite admitting “I’ve never heard of him.” The hosts of “The Charlie Kirk Show” also slammed Bad Bunny on a recent episode of the conservative talk program, which continued after Kirk’s death. (After he was assassinated in September while debating college students in Utah, Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, assumed the role of CEO of Turning Point USA.)
During his “Saturday Night Live” monologue on Oct. 4, Bad Bunny mocked conservative pundits for the backlash surrounding his Super Bowl performance. He delivered some heartfelt remarks in Spanish, thanking his fans and acknowledging Latinos’ contributions in the U.S. Then, in English, he quipped: “If you didn’t understand what I just said, you have four months to learn.”
The Super Bowl will take place on Feb. 8, 2026.
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