Staff Reports
The spectacle at Super Bowl LX should have been about national unity and entertainment, but once again the left used a corporate stage to amplify identity politics and cultural grievance. Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny headlined the halftime show on February 8, 2026, and the reaction laid bare the widening gap between pop culture elites and everyday Americans who just want a clean halftime show without being lectured.
What set off so many critics was not just his music but his overt political posture—Bad Bunny has publicly criticized U.S. immigration enforcement and even said he avoided including the continental United States on his tour because of fears about ICE raids. That sort of performative victimhood plays well to coastal elites but alienates working-class voters who prioritize law, order, and fairness over celebrity virtue signaling.
Predictably, the conservative reaction was loud and visceral, with figures across the right calling the halftime choice unpatriotic and even questioning whether such a political persona belongs on the NFL’s biggest night. The backlash spilled into the culture wars, with personalities like Jake Paul clashing publicly over whether Bad Bunny’s criticism of U.S. policy disqualifies him from being treated as an American cultural ambassador. The whole episode exposed how entertainment platforms have become political stages.
On the other side, many in Black and other minority communities cheered Bad Bunny as an ally against ICE and as a rare Latino artist who refuses to conform to English-first expectations, showing that the left’s coalition is messy and far from monolithic. But conservatives should call out the hypocrisy when the media pretends that celebrity protest equals grassroots consensus; representation doesn’t mean a free pass to insult institutions that millions of Americans rely on for safety and order.
Meanwhile, corporate partners—Apple, the NFL, and major broadcasters—kept fanning the flames by elevating an artist whose politics are clearly divisive, then acting surprised when the country pushed back. That corporate courage is really just cowardice: market-driven signaling to a coastal elite that alienates the heartland and treats patriotism as a partisan punching bag.
Americans should demand entertainment that entertains, not culture-war sermons marketed as unity. Bad Bunny’s headline performance drew massive attention and even a social media wipe that fueled speculation and outrage, but the broader lesson for conservatives is clear: stand up for free expression and common-sense civic values while refusing to let corporate media and celebrity elites redefine patriotism on their terms.
