5 minutes of readingsantaclaraFebruary 10, 2026 03:01 pm IST
Bad Bunny has already had a great 2026. The Puerto Rican singer and rapper won his first Grammy Award and delivered 13 minutes of a love letter to his native culture during the Super Bowl halftime, much to the chagrin of the right-wing American population, led by US President Donald Trump, who dubbed the performance as “absolutely terrible.”
Bad Bunny’s tribute to Puerto Rican culture at the 2026 Super Bowl
“God Bless America,” were the first and few words in English spoken by the Spanish-speaking artist, who then proceeded to list countries in North and South America, including the United States and Canada. Behind him, a screen read: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love,” in direct reference to his speech at the 2026 Grammy Awards, where the Puerto Rican superstar took home Album of the Year.
The United States, he seemed to remind his global audience, including viewers in the United States, comprises a number of countries in the Western Hemisphere. It was a touching gesture for an artist whose performance was politicized at the time it was announced, labeled as un-American by his detractors even though Puerto Ricans are American citizens. He performed all of his biggest hits during the Super Bowl presentation: Tití Me Preguntó, MONACO and BAILE INoLVIDABLE.
Donald Trump’s review of Bad Bunny’s performance
Trump dismissed Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance as “an affront to the greatness of America.” “No one understands a word this guy says,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform, despite official government data indicating that more than 41 million Americans speak Spanish. He also said the spectacle was “absolutely terrible” and “an affront to the greatness of America.”
Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens no matter where they were born and have been since 1917. But Puerto Ricans living on the island have limited citizenship rights: They cannot vote for president, have no representation in Congress, and can be drafted into the military. Trump’s immigration policies and executive actions have vastly expanded who is eligible for deportation, routine hearings have become deportation traps for immigrants, and detentions are lengthy.
They delete Bad Bunny’s Instagram account
Led by Trump’s attack, the Internet became widely polarized when they called Bad Bunny’s Spanish-language Super Bowl performance an insult to the Super Bowl halftime show, which has traditionally been reserved for English-language concerts. While it’s unclear if this is a direct consequence of all the trolling on social media, Bad Bunny on Tuesday completely deleted his Instagram account.
There was no profile photo visible. All posts were deleted or archived. And the most important thing is that Bad Bunny had achieved his 51 million followers on the platform. While some on the Internet feel that this could be their way of quieting the noise at least on Instagram, others suspect that it is just a strategic move, as other artists have done in the past, before announcing something big and new, mainly a new album.
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Wedding during Bad Bunny’s performance
Political tension aside, Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance had several elements that were talked about across the board. These include cameos from Ricky Martin and Lady Gaga, who performed their popular song “Die With A Smile” in Puerto Rican style. There was also Bad Bunny handing a Grammy statuette to a child watching television, symbolically assuring his younger self that he would one day win a Grammy despite his heritage.
Another surprise that Bad Bunny threw at the public was a wedding that took place in the middle of the performance. About five minutes into the 13-minute show at Levi’s Stadium, the last part of a wedding ceremony was shown, with a smiling officiant declaring the couple married, and the husband and wife, both dressed in white, sharing a kiss as dancers and musicians surrounded them and smiled.
After the show, her rep confirmed that the couple had actually gotten married during the show. The unnamed husband and wife had invited Bad Bunny to their wedding, but he said they should be part of his halftime show. The artist acted as a witness and signed their marriage certificate.