Bad Bunny went viral on social media after it was revealed that he will headline the Super Bowl halftime show. While many tried to “cancel” him for what they see as a contradiction—since just a few months ago he said he wouldn’t perform in the U.S.—the real reason behind his decision is much more profound, and it actually makes perfect sense for him to take this stage.
Last week, Benito was officially announced as the halftime show performer at the Super Bowl. The backlash came quickly, since he had previously ruled out the U.S. from his tour to avoid exposing his Latino fans to ICE—the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency that is responsible for detaining and deporting immigrants, particularly from Latin America.
Is Bad Bunny a Hypocrite?
The truth, however, is that this show represents the biggest stage the U.S. can offer any artist. Technically speaking, Benito would be using the space to send a powerful message against immigration policies, the inhumane acts committed against detained people, and, on top of that, he plans to perform in Spanish.
“It’s a sweet revenge to see racist people forced to watch a Latino artist sing in their biggest show in Spanish. It’s poetic,” and “You can see it as an act of making the invisible visible, of giving voice to the silenced, of using a massive platform to spark debate and discussion about racism, exclusion, and classism,” were some of the comments shared online.
It’s also worth noting that the Super Bowl does not pay artists to perform. Instead, it covers the production costs of the show through sponsorship money, but there is no direct payment to the performer. Speaking of sponsors, one of them is Apple, a company that has openly criticized Donald Trump’s immigration policies. That makes it even clearer why Bad Bunny would seize the opportunity to make a political statement on such a stage.
