The Grammys take on a political tone as artists speak out against ICE
Several performers, including Super Bowl headliner Bad Bunny, shared emotional statements about immigration and current political tensions at the Grammys.
- Conservative leaders and activists have criticized the NFL’s choice, citing the artist’s political views and challenges to gender norms.
- Opponents planned an alternative halftime show featuring country and rock artists Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, and Lee Brice.
- Supporters say the backlash is politically motivated and that Bad Bunny’s performance celebrates America’s diversity.
Nothing could keep Sen. Tommy Tuberville away from the 2025 Super Bowl, after he hitchhiked in the Air Force with President Donald Trump and several other Republicans.
“Happy Super Bowl Sunday,” the Alabama state senator and former Auburn football coach said in a Feb. 9, 2025, post to X. “It’s an honor to be a part of the @POTUS team heading to Super Bowl XI.”
But he won’t even be looking forward to attending the first gridiron rematch in 10 years between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots on February 9th.
It’s not because of any bitter rivalries with teams, players, or other coaches. Rather, the love for the sport that underpinned his political career was overshadowed by partisan divisions over the NFL’s choice of Bad Bunny to headline its Super Bowl 60 halftime performance.
“Bad Bunny is the worst,” an Alabama Republican running for governor this year told USA TODAY. “Ever since (NFL Commissioner Roger) Goodell took over in 2006, the NFL has woken up. We’re not going to watch the Super Bowl this year.”
Some conservative leaders and activists have voiced opposition to the popular Puerto Rican musician, who can perform all of his songs in Spanish, including Louisiana House Speaker Mike Johnson, who announced his disapproval last October, and conservative commentator Tomi Lahren, who mistakenly said he was “not an American artist.”
The White House said President Trump would watch the game, but would change the channel during the halftime show in favor of an alternative program organized by conservative activists that featured country, rap-rock and heavy metal singer Kid Rock.
White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt told reporters at a Feb. 5 briefing that “the president would prefer Kid Rock’s performance to Bad Bunny’s, I have to say that.”
Controversies and boycotts have brought the league under fire in the past. But this time, the “Make America Great Again” movement is trying to fire the musical performance given their fierce opposition to Bad Bunny.
Opponents of his selection argue that he is alienating conservative fans because he is known for breaking gender norms through fashion and for sharply criticizing President Trump’s aggressive anti-immigrant campaign.
Will sports become politically polarized?
The Super Bowl is by far the most-watched television event in America, attracting hundreds of millions of spectators each year. The halftime show, including the commercials, provides an important cultural touchstone.
No other professional sports league rivals the NFL in popularity, with similar levels of support among Democrats and Republicans.
A 2023 survey by Ipsos found that football reigns supreme among American sports fans. According to the poll, just under half of Americans describe themselves as NFL fans, with 44% of Democrats and 45% of Republicans saying the same.
Market research firm Ipsos said in a summary of its findings that sports remains “a rare opportunity to share moments and memories together as Americans become increasingly sorted into political bubbles.”
But MAGA officials, including Trump, have thrown flags at Goodell, along with rapper Jay-Z, who was named the NFL’s entertainment strategist in 2019, for hosting artists they say are politically charged against their beliefs, including rapper Kendrick Lamar in 2025 and singer Beyoncé in 2016.
MAGA beef with Bad Bunny explained
Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martinez, is from Puerto Rico and has around 35 million followers on TikTok and 50 million followers on Instagram. Sports officials say his selection is part of the NFL’s larger business goals of expanding globally.
But the reggaeton rapper, who delves into other music genres with African and Latin American roots, such as plena, jivaro and bomba, is also one of the most politically outspoken artists of our time. He has repeatedly expressed his disapproval of the Trump administration’s immigration policies, most recently at the 68th Grammy Awards.
“Before I say thank God, I’m going to say ICE is over,” he told the crowd at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Conservatives are bracing for what they expect to be a bold halftime performance, featuring hits like “DTMF” and “Me Porto Bonito,” and perhaps some overt or subtle criticism of President Trump and his policies.
When Beyoncé strolled onto the field during halftime of Super Bowl 50 in 2016, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a close ally of President Donald Trump, criticized her for alluding to Malcolm X and the Black Panther Party and calling it an “attack” on law enforcement.
H. Sammy Alim, an anthropology professor and faculty director of the UCLA Hip-Hop Initiative, said that opposition to future performances, particularly around language and identity, has become more pronounced because Bad Bunny encourages other Americans to “expand boundaries” that many find offensive.
“Bad Bunny represents that kind of linguistic threat,” Alim said. “He is a person of color who also plays with gender and sexuality in a way that is very inclusive of the queer community. In other words, he is seen as a threat to the United States as someone who has ties to many of the communities they have already built.”
He also has decided to skip all US stops on this year’s world tour due to concerns about ICE coming to his concerts. She kissed a male backup dancer on stage. In 2021, she wore a drag costume in the “Yo Pereo Sola” music video. And in 2022, she wore a skirt for her appearance on “The Tonight Show.”
Conservative political commentator Jeff Cruehl said the Super Bowl is an event that brings together much of the country. By featuring Bad Bunny and Green Day, a rock band that also has more liberal leanings, the NFL is sending a message to fans who support the president and those with more traditional values, he said.
“For many of us, it’s intolerable that they continue this trend,” Cruel said. “You see it in Hollywood. It goes on all the time with actors, and they make everything political and it just makes people uncomfortable.”
This caused a notable backlash, with over 100 petitions being started on Change.org opposing Bad Bunny’s performance. The most popular petition, with approximately 120,000 signatures, was calling for George Strait, known as the “King of Country Music,” to replace Bad Bunny.
While the website has previously hosted halftime-related petitions, Change.org spokesperson Kajal Odedra told USA TODAY that “the scale and cultural breadth of this petition is remarkable,” ranking it among the most responded to.
Liberals say conservatives are politicizing entertainment
A Quinnipiac University survey found that when asked last October about NFL selections, about 48% of Americans approved, 29% opposed, and the remaining 24% had no opinion.
Polls showed clear partisan divides, with about three-quarters of Democrats supporting the decision and nearly two-thirds of Republicans disapproving.
Bad Bunny’s defenders say his performance will demonstrate America’s diversity and make him a star beloved by a rapidly growing young audience. They point out that he is originally from Puerto Rico, which is part of the United States, and has become a global star by embracing his heritage.
“Like millions of Latinos, he is bilingual and extremely talented,” said Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of America’s Voice, a liberal immigration reform group. “And like many immigrants who contribute to culture and music, he is an innovator.”
“This performance is only considered controversial because we have a president in the White House who seeks to divide the American people,” she added. “They made it OK for people to racially profile people of color, and they made it OK for people to express really anti-immigrant views.”
The poll also divided racial opinion, with 61% of black adults and 65% of Hispanic adults supporting that choice, compared to just 41% of white adults. But the decision was overwhelmingly supported by younger Americans between the ages of 18 and 34, with 64% saying they liked the choice, compared to a 50-50 split among people 65 and older.
David vs. Goliath: Conservatives bet on halftime alternative
Conservative activists are now planning another halftime show featuring performers friendly to President Trump.
Turning Point USA, an organization founded by the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, announced this week the lineup for the All-American Halftime Show, which will feature performances from Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice and more.
Kid Rock, an ally of President Trump, said in a Feb. 2 news release that organizers are approaching the show “like David and Goliath.” He said Super Bowl headliners will “wear dresses and sing in Spanish,” but the show will feature “great songs for people who love America,” noting they are competing against the most powerful sports leagues and global pop superstars.
Allies and Adversaries have telegraphed that they intend to see how well the Turning Point USA event does in terms of viewership numbers.
“If they get a significant audience, I don’t know what those numbers will be, but maybe that will be a wake-up call for the NFL to try to go in a different direction with entertainment and do something less divisive,” Cruehl told USA TODAY.
While President Trump’s allies lean into fighting on the front lines of the culture wars, the administration appears to be backing down as the backlash over the shooting deaths of two Americans by federal agents in Minnesota boils over and culminates in confrontational protests at the Capitol.
League leaders announced at a Feb. 3 press conference that there would be no ICE or federal immigration enforcement enforcement at games, months after former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and other Trump allies hinted at the possibility in an October 2025 podcast interview with conservative commentator Benny Johnson.
Contributor: Bart Jansen, USA TODAY
