Bad Bunny may keep politics off the mic — but his Super Bowl presence still speaks volumes

During Bad Bunny’s pre-Super Bowl press conference Thursday, the music megastar didn’t address whether his Halftime Show would touch on immigration, ICE or Donald Trump.

Instead, the Puerto Rican artist emphasized that his highly anticipated performance Sunday at Levi’s Stadium would be “fun,” “easy” and centered on dance — “what comes from the heart.”

The comments surprised some fans and observers who expected the artist, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, to use one of the most-watched concerts on the planet to reprise the “ICE out” declaration he made at the Grammy Awards last weekend or to take aim at the Trump administration’s hardline immigration policies.

But even without a sweeping political statement, supporters and critics alike say Bad Bunny’s presence on the Super Bowl stage carries weight — particularly because he will perform in Spanish. A massively entertaining Bad Bunny performance alone would be enough to shape the national conversation, fans and social justice advocates say.

“His presence at the Super Bowl makes a strong statement on its own,” said Nicole Lee, executive director of Oakland’s Urban Peace Movement.

Lee and others point to Bad Bunny’s long track record of blending art with political activism, particularly on behalf of Latinos, immigrants and the people of his native Puerto Rico — a U.S. territory with a fraught, century-long history of U.S. intervention.

He has written multiple protest songs calling attention to failing infrastructure and gentrification on the archipelago and has paid for political ads criticizing Puerto Rico’s governing parties. He has also cited fears of ICE enforcement at his concerts as a reason his most recent world tour skipped stops in the mainland United States.

“Bad Bunny really for the entirety of his career has been protesting through his music, through his presence on stage, through his style,” said Vanessa Díaz, a professor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and co-author of “P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance.”

Díaz places the artist within a long tradition of Puerto Rican protest that uses dance, music and celebration to generate political action.

“All he’s done is continue to find new ways to bring new messages into his music. His music alone and even his presence alone are already very profoundly political. … We really need to see that voice of strength and pride from a Spanish speaker, from a Latino, really, more than ever.”

In just the past week, Bad Bunny made music history while using his globally televised Grammy Awards appearances to denounce ICE activity and speak up for Latinos and immigrants.

He became the first artist to win the Grammys’ album of the year for an entirely Spanish-language record, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos.” He also won best música urbana album. In one acceptance speech, he declared “ICE out,” adding: “We’re not savage. We’re not animals. We’re not aliens. We are humans, and we are Americans.” He also dedicated his album of the year award to “all the people who had to leave their homeland, their country, to follow their dreams.”

The political context surrounding the Super Bowl has grown increasingly charged in recent weeks amid nationwide protests over ICE’s presence in communities and the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Those demonstrations have also reached the Bay Area in the days leading up to Sunday’s game.

As the Super Bowl approaches, Bad Bunny and the NFL are well aware that his Halftime Show has drawn hostility from Trump and his supporters — both because it will be performed in Spanish and because of the artist’s past criticism of the current president.

Asked in October about the NFL’s decision to book Bad Bunny, Trump said: “I don’t know who he is. I don’t know why they’re doing it’s, like, crazy. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous.”

Other prominent Republicans also weighed in, framing themselves and their supporters as the backbone of professional football’s traditional audience. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson called the booking “a terrible decision,” saying Bad Bunny “is not someone who appeals to a broader audience.” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the only people who should perform at or attend the Super Bowl are “law-abiding Americans who love this country.”

The conservative organization Turning Point USA, founded by the late activist Charlie Kirk, has scheduled an alternative “All-American Halftime Show.” The event, streaming on the group’s social media platforms, is headlined by Kid Rock, the pro-Trump rocker, along with three other country music performers.

Despite months of backlash from MAGA-aligned critics, the NFL has stood by Bad Bunny and has not publicly expressed concern about alienating fans or angering Trump and his allies.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell praised the artist the day after his Grammy speech. At his annual state of the league address Monday, Goodell said Bad Bunny is “one of the great artists in the world,” adding that his performance is intended to “bring people together.”

“I think artists in the past have done that,” Goodell said. “I think Bad Bunny understands that, and I think he’ll have a great performance.”

Goodell has also said the decision to select Bad Bunny was “carefully thought through,” reflecting the league’s confidence that the performance will ultimately be good for business.

According to ESPN, the NFL has made expanding its international audience a priority, playing a record seven games in five international cities this season. The league also views its Latino audience in the United States and Latin America as “a critical growth area,” as Marissa Solis, the NFL’s senior vice president of global brand and consumer marketing, told ESPN in November.

“It is a community of more than 70 million people here in the U.S.,” she said. “So it was very important for us to ensure that we were relevant.”

As for the controversy surrounding Bad Bunny, Goodell said in October: “I’m not sure we’ve ever selected an artist where we didn’t have some blowback or criticism.”