Bad Bunny Is the Super Bowl Halftime Performer!? Adam Carolla Shares His Brutally Honest Opinion
The Culture Clash on the 50-Yard Line: The Halftime Show as a Political Payload
The announcement of Bad Bunny as the Super Bowl LX (2026) halftime performer is seen by the speakers not as a booking, but as a political maneuver, following a history of corporate-approved activism on the national stage.
The Contradiction of the Super Bowl Experience
The most potent argument raised is the cognitive dissonance created by the event’s structure:
Segment
Vibe
Message
Pre-Game/Kickoff
The Flyover, National Anthem
“That’s F*cking American.” A celebration of U.S. power, military might (F-18s), and traditional patriotism (Lee Greenwood/Toby Keith).
Halftime Show
The Performance (J.Lo, Bad Bunny)
“Anti-America.” A platform for social critique (kids in cages, anti-ICE stances) intended to “settle our hash” or make a “shitty statement about America.”
The speakers believe the NFL (and its partner, Roc Nation) is purposely “poking the bear” by sandwiching a moment of extreme American traditionalism between an anti-establishment, highly political performance.
The J.Lo Precedent: “Shaking Her Ass for Kids in Cages”
The critique of Bad Bunny is immediately contextualized by a dramatic analysis of Jennifer Lopez’s 2020 Halftime Show (Super Bowl LIV). According to the J.Lo documentary, her “greatest concern” was to use the platform to highlight “kids in cages at the border.”
The speakers’ analysis of J.Lo’s motive is devastatingly cynical:
The Intent: J.Lo felt “compelled” to make a substance-driven, political statement against the backdrop of the Trump presidency.
The Execution: The message was either diluted to the point of being unrecognizable (“a couple of hoops” to match her outfit) or completely overshadowed by the spectacle (“All she did was shake her ass”).
The Hypocrisy: The ultimate criticism is that the protest was fleeting. The celebrities get paid (via branding and promotion), make the brief, “bedazzled” statement, and then immediately move on. As the speaker states: “You talk about kids in cages, then you just shake your f*cking ass, get paid, and go home. And by the way, no more talk about kids in cages.”
Bad Bunny: The Inevitable Sequel
The fear is that Bad Bunny—who is vocally anti-Trump, a critic of immigration policies, and actively boycotted the U.S. in his recent tour due to ICE concerns—will feel the same “compulsion” to deliver an anti-American statement.
The speaker proposes a satirical “compromise” that underscores the current political tension:
“If we combine the fly over with Bad Bunny and they just light up Bad Bunny, like they fly over at halftime and just put a couple Sidewinders into the stage, I will watch the f*ck out of that.”
The Search for Apolitical Unity
Ultimately, the argument boils down to a desire for the Super Bowl to return to unifying entertainment, not political rhetoric. The speakers yearn for:
Non-Offensive Rock: A return to rock acts, which have been absent from the halftime show for over a decade.
A-Political Nostalgia: A desire for “Americana” acts (like a suggested ’80s montage with Huey Lewis or Starship) or apolitical “session man” music that allows the audience to simply look at appliances—metaphorically, to exist in peace without confrontation.
The consensus is that the NFL, influenced by Roc Nation, is strategically using the platform to make a political statement that intentionally divides the massive, diverse, and often traditional Super Bowl audience.
