The Super Bowl, the National Football League’s annual championship, is much more than a game. It is, as Kadir Ustun put it, “an expression of ‘American exceptionalism. Transformed into a full-blown consumption feast with family and friend gatherings, parking lot barbecue parties, first-time commercial breaks, and the halftime show, the game has also become a cultural phenomenon where American identity is celebrated.”
Like everything else in the Age of Trump, the Super Bowl has become entangled in the racial and cultural wars that divide our nation. This year’s halftime show is no exception. Starring the Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny (Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio), Super Bowl LX’s entertainment became a bone of contention from the moment the headliner was announced. The pro-Trump MAGA crowd, which claims the exclusive right to determine American culture, complained about Bad Bunny’s use of Spanish as his musical language, his status as a LGBTQ ally, and his known opposition to the Trump administration and its use of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) against undocumented immigrants and their supporters. Millions of Trumpers complained to the NFL and, when the NFL would not budge, made plans to watch an alternative halftime show produced by Turning Point USA and starring Kid Rock.
The halftime show at the “Benito Bowl” turned out to be a major success, at least to most of us who watched it. Bunny’s 13-minute show was a celebration of Puerto Rican culture, with a cast of hundreds ranging from complete unknowns to celebrity extras like Pedro Pascal. As a Miami Cuban, I could appreciate much of the show’s narrative, from farm workers cutting sugar cane to old men playing dominoes. As a gay ma,n I was thrilled to see queer icons Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin share Benito’s stage. I loved it for the same reasons that others hated it.
Self-appointed guardians of American morals did not wait for the Seattle Seahawks to seal their expected victory before rushing to their social media platforms to complain against what they saw as the halftime show’s assault on American values. Here again, they took their cue from Donald Trump, who called Bad Bunny’s performance “one of the worst ever,” even as it was shown on television screens at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Super Bowl Party. US Representative Maria Elvira Salazar, a Cuban American, complained about the rapper’s use of Spanish. “To have a fully Spanish-language halftime show, with no subtitles, isn’t inclusive. It’s exclusive. In Miami, we listen to Spanish music, but we put America first.”
Salazar’s attack seems moderate in comparison to those expressed by some of her male colleagues. Tennessee’s Andy Ogles called the halftime show “pure smut. Children were forced to endure explicit displays of gay sexual acts [where?], women gyrating provocatively and Bad Bunny shamelessly grabbing his crotch while dry humping the air. And if that wasn’t enough, the performances lyrics glorified sodomy and countless other unspeakable depravities,” not realizing that Bad Bunny deliberately changed some of his lyrics to fit his TV audience. Ogles requested that the House Energy and Commerce Committee launch a formal investigation into this matter.
Not to be outdone, Florida’s MAGA Representative Andy Fine alerted Trump’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) about this “disgusting halftime show.” Fine complained about Bad Bunny’s use of “the f-word on live TV,” which he did not do. “We are sending [FCC Chair Brendan Carr] a letter calling for dramatic action, including fines and broadcast license review, against the NFL, NBC, and Bad Bunny. Lock them up.” Other red state representatives followed suit, hardly bothering to hide their racism or their homophobia.
With MAGA Republicans in control of both the House of Representatives and the FCC, there is no doubt that one or more investigations will follow the congressional complaints. Even so, Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show was a victory for those of us who believe in racial and sexual diversity, and a defeat for an administration that is doing its best to destroy the democratic values that we hold dear. This is just another battle in our ongoing culture war.
