Benito Martínez Ocasio, known by his stage name “Bad Bunny,” vowed to wear a dress for his Super Bowl LX Halftime show to honor Puerto Rican queer icons. He promised to pay tribute to generations of queer activists, drag performers, and cultural icons during his show on February 8.
When the National Football League announced that Bad Bunny would be this year’s halftime show performer, there was an outpour of backlash from MAGA. Bad Bunny has refused to back down, and confirmed he will perform the half-time show. The NFL is refusing to give in as well, with NFL commissioner Roger Goodall remaining “confident” in the organization’s choice.
The behavior from the right-wing has been abusive and disgustingly racist; including threats from the Trump Administration to place Bad Bunny in an ICE detention center and “deport” him. Bad Bunny is from Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, making him a natural-born U.S. citizen. Not only is this factually wrong, but it is incredibly ignorant and harmful. MAGA is calling for a mass boycott of the event and has labelled Bad Bunny as “satanic.” This extreme and slanderous verbiage has been a tool throughout history to enforce racist prejudices through fear rather than base their beliefs in any sort of fact.
Bad Bunny is a Puerto Rican reggaeton and Latin Trap rapper who infuses his music with his cultural pride. Con su poesía y capaz del cerebro, crea música por alma que inspira a una generación de artistas y activistas. His command of lyrics is skillful and powerful with political influence that has been likened to that of Tupac. He released a song on Soundcloud called “Compositor del año” five years ago that addresses the racism, sexism, and oppression that is paradoxically denaturing and reinforcing the so-called American dream.
A source close to Benito said he is “not playing it safe” and that the NFL “has no idea what’s coming. Zero.”
You should be expecting a historic performance.
Photo courtesy of social media
