By Otis Grotewohl
February 9, 2026

Super Bowl LX featured two halftime shows on Feb. 8. The official halftime show was headlined by popular Puerto Rican reggaeton rapper and songwriter Bad Bunny. The “alternative” halftime show was sponsored by the neofascist “Turning Point USA” (TPUSA) and was aired on various right-wing platforms.

Although both events had major capitalist sponsors, the two shows mirrored the growing class divide between working and oppressed people on one side and forces of white supremacy and finance capital on the other.

Why MAGA feared Bad Bunny’s halftime show

Often dubbed the “King of Latin Trap” music, Bad Bunny has been a popular artist among young generations for nearly a decade. Mixing traditional Latin and Caribbean sounds with contemporary dance music, Bad Bunny primarily sings in Spanish.

Bad Bunny is an outspoken advocate of migrant and LGBTQIA2+ rights. He spoke out against ICE terror during the Grammy Awards on Feb. 1: “ICE out! We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens — we’re humans.” (BBC, Feb. 1) He got a roaring standing ovation.

Bad Bunny is gender-fluid and often wears dresses and skirts. There were early rumors on social media that he would sport a dress during the halftime show to express solidarity with his LGBTQIA2+ fans. The concept of having a nonbinary and Spanish-singing performer at the Super Bowl infuriated the far right.

Reactionaries hate that Bad Bunny is a proponent of social justice activism. In 2018, he started a charity organization called the “Good Bunny Foundation.” The foundation’s purpose is to help empower Puerto Rican youth, while providing material support and resources to help people. The foundation was partially founded due to the first Trump administration’s neglectful response to Hurricane Maria’s destruction of Puerto Rico in 2017.

Right-wing podcasters and politicians also directed their anger towards the other halftime show performers, labeling them “woke.” Those artists include African American R&B singer Coco Jones, lesbian folk-rock singer Brandi Carlile and the politically progressive pop-punk band Green Day.

TPUSA’s halftime show was a flop

TPUSA initially announced their “alternative” halftime show in October 2025, around the same time the organization’s co-founder, Charlie Kirk, was assassinated. TPUSA’s revelation came as a surprise for many, since there has always been one official Super Bowl halftime show.

Calling itself the “All-American Halftime Show,” the event’s headlining act was the notoriously racist and misogynist rock musician Kid Rock. The other three acts were less known “pop-country” musicians, and critics repeatedly highlighted how all of them are white. TPUSA’s halftime show could only be viewed on far-right media outlets such as X, Rumble, “One America News” (OAN) and the Christian nationalist “Trinity Broadcasting Network.”

For months, promoters of the TPUSA show made vile statements about Bad Bunny and Puerto Rico all over social media. It is evident many TPUSA contributors do not understand that Puerto Rico is an occupied U.S. colony or that Puerto Ricans are considered “U.S. citizens” — despite not having full sovereignty.

TPUSA supporters’ comments align with Trump’s own hateful words about Bad Bunny. Trump called the NFL’s announcement of Bad Bunny as the headlining act “absolutely ridiculous” and even threatened to have ICE agents arrest him at the Super Bowl. (The Providence Journal, Feb. 8)

Most Super Bowl viewers  – estimated at over 133 million people – watched the official halftime show and ignored the TPUSA event. Bad Bunny’s performance — all in Spanish and a spectacular celebration of Latine culture — did not disappoint.

His set — which included performances by Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, Cardi B, Pedro Pascal and Jessica Alba — paid tribute to Puerto Rican culture. It also spotlighted the terrible impact of Luma’s privatization of the island’s fragile electric grid, resulting in rolling blackouts, raised in his protest anthem “ El Apagón” (The Blackout). It ended with a shoutout to all nations throughout North and South America — rejecting the false narrative wherein the U.S. labels itself “America.”

MAGA’s optics are currently unpopular. Workers and oppressed people want basic human needs, including health care, housing, food and employment. Recent polls show that 62% of the U.S. population believe ICE operations make people “less safe” and see its budget as a waste of money. (pbs.org, Feb. 5)

Collectively, workers and oppressed peoples can successfully defeat MAGA bigotry and its fascist threat while celebrating resistance culture.