Like many parts of sports fandom in recent years, the Super Bowl halftime performer has become a frequent lightning rod in the culture wars. It appears that in 2026 for Super Bowl LX, the NFL will air its first non-English performance when Bad Bunny takes the stage at Levi’s Stadium. Predictably, given the rapper’s background and outspoken political views, the announcement has drawn sharp takes from all sorts of commentators.
Discussing the choice on Tuesday, frequent NFL critic and longtime observer of the intersection between sports and politics Jemele Hill defended the league’s decision. In a live reaction on her YouTube channel, the former ESPN host said that while she personally does not listen to Bad Bunny’s music or count herself as a diehard fan, she understands the business reasons for selecting the Puerto Rican reggaeton artist and looks forward to seeing his performance.
“I think this requires a lot of cultural maturity. Everything ain’t gotta be for you,” Hill explained.
“And unfortunately, there’s a lot of white people in this country who are so used to all of their tastes, their likes, their dislikes being centered, that the moment something doesn’t center them, they lose their mind. I am OK with being unfamiliar with something and wanting to learn about it. It’s called curiosity. I’m curious about other cultures, I’m curious about other people. Everything doesn’t have to be about me.”
While Hill spent considerable time mocking right-wing commentators and laughing at the fragility she sees in certain opinions on the Bad Bunny selection, she honed in on a clearer point later in the video. Hill explained that she sees the resistance to an immensely popular Spanish-speaking artist as part of a troubling cultural trend among Americans.
“I think this is part of an overall anti-intellectualism that seems to be becoming more celebrated in this country,” she said. “That it’s OK to not learn, it’s OK to be dumb, it’s OK to not want to be curious about other cultures. That’s part of the experience of being a human being. That’s the part that we should actually embrace and look forward to.”
More broadly, Hill supports the NFL’s decision because it is clear the league is targeting Latinos as it continues to grow in the U.S. and beyond. This week, the league also struck an agreement to play several more games in Brazil in the coming years.
Similar to the 2021 performance starring Shakira and Jennifer Lopez — which also featured Bad Bunny in a cameo — the league clearly sees an opportunity to bring in Latino and Spanish-speaking fans by spotlighting the most popular Latino artist in the world.
And given the attention paid to other political performances by Beyonce at the 2024 NFL Christmas GameDay broadcast on Netflix and Kendrick Lamar at last year’s Super Bowl, Hill expects all the critics will still tune in.
“They’re going to be watching just to be mad,” she predicted. “They’re going to be sitting there, angry as hell, eating 7-layer dip, mad as hell that Bad Bunny is singing in Spanish.”
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.