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Bad Bunny is addressing the backlash surrounding his selection as the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show headliner.
The 31-year-old Puerto Rican superstar hosted the season 51 premiere of Saturday Night Live on Oct. 4, with Doja Cat as the musical guest. During his opening monologue, he touched on some of the criticism he’s received since the announcement.
“You might not know this, but I’m doing the Super Bowl halftime show and I’m very happy,” Bad Bunny told viewers. “I think everyone is happy about it — even Fox News.”
The segment then cut to a satirical montage of Fox News clips edited to make it sound like the hosts were praising the “DTMF” hitmaker and declaring, “Bad Bunny is my favorite musician, and he should be the next president.”
“I’m really excited to be doing the Super Bowl. I know that people all around the world who love my music are also happy,” he continued, before switching to Spanish to speak directly to his community.
“Especially all of the Latinos and Latinas in the world here in the United States who have worked to open doors,” he said in his native tongue. “It’s more than a win for myself, it’s a win for all of us. Our footprints and our contribution in this country, no one will ever be able to take that away or erase it.”
Bad Bunny closed the monologue with a playful note in English, saying, “And, if you didn’t understand know what I just said, you have four months to learn!”
The comments follow a wave of mixed reactions to last week’s announcement that Bad Bunny will headline Super Bowl LX, which is set for Feb. 8, 2026, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Corey Lewandowski, a former Trump adviser currently working with the Department of Homeland Security, previously warned that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will be present at the game.
“There is nowhere you can provide safe haven to people who are in this country illegally,” Lewandowski said on The Benny Show. “Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else. We will find you and apprehend you and put you in a detention facility and deport you.” He added, “Know that is a very real situation under this administration, which is contrary to how it used to be.”
Looking ahead, SNL’s October lineup includes Amy Poehler hosting the Oct. 11 episode with first-time musical guest Role Model, and Sabrina Carpenter pulling double duty as host and musical guest on Oct. 18. While it’ll be Carpenter’s hosting debut, she previously performed on SNL in 2024 and appeared on SNL50: The Anniversary Special earlier this year.
Watch Bad Bunny’s SNL monologue below.
