Singer set to perform at Super Bowl halftime show photographed remaining seated during traditional 7th inning stretch
Bad Bunny apparently isn’t done courting controversy.
The Puerto Rican singer was recently named as the performer for the Super Bowl halftime show. That announcement generated pushback from fans who are unfamiliar with him, particularly because he sings almost entirely in Spanish. While extremely popular in the Spanish-speaking world, his popularity is far more limited for the majority of Americans. Which is what made his choice a bit, uh, confusing.
Particularly after he made a point of criticizing ICE for enforcing immigration laws. Durng a recent interview, he said he didn’t book shows in the United States out of fear that federal agents would be outside the venue.
“But there was the issue of — like, f—ing ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about,” he said to i-D. “Look, those motherf——s are in these cars, RAV-4s…”
“Sons of b——, instead of leaving the people alone and working there,” he concluded.
He then hosted Saturday Night Live, defiantly saying that people need to learn Spanish to understand his performance.
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This latest story isn’t going to make him any more popular with many NFL and sports fans.
TMZ Sports reported that during Tuesday night’s MLB playoff game between the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays, he stayed seated during the traditional 7th inning playing of “God Bless America” at Yankee Stadium.
NEW YORK – Singer Bad Bunny watches the 2025 NBA Playoffs between the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on May 10, 2025. Photo: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Did Bad Bunny Stay Seated Purposefully?
Though Bad Bunny’s face isn’t visible in the photo posted by TMZ, another photo posted on social media by the infamous Marlins Man showed him in the same clothes and green hat.
TMZ stated that the audio associated with the live photo showed that it was taken during the “stand beside her and guide her” portion of the song. That’s toward the earlier portion of “God Bless America,” and there is no video showing whether he remained seated for the entire song. ChatGPT AI indicates the image is real.
OutKick reached out to representatives for Bad Bunny, asking if it was a purposeful decision on his part to not stand for the song, as well as asking for comment as to the reasoning behind it, and whether he’d address it publicly. As of time of publishing, they had not responded.
Bad Bunny, being from Puerto Rico, is a U.S. Citizen, making this a seemingly purposeful act of defiance against what is effectively his home country. A questionable choice, to say the least. But then again, he’s made plenty of questionable choices.
