Roger Goodell defends Bad Bunny during Super Bowl halftime show
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell defended the decision to use Bad Bunny as the Super Bowl halftime performer, acknowledging his international reputation.
Lil Jon capped off the NFL’s Thanksgiving halftime entertainment with a performance at Thursday night’s game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals.
Viewers watching the game at home were only able to catch a few seconds of the 54-year-old rapper’s performance.
Rather than air Lil Jon’s halftime show during the Ravens-Bengals game, NBC chose to air a feature on John Madden’s coaching accomplishments. The feature was narrated by Andy Reid and included interviews with Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs and former Raiders players Art Shell, Gus Otto and Phil Villapiano.
After the special ended, NBC cut to commercial. Upon returning, they showed a roughly 15-second clip of Lil Jon’s performance, then aired more ads and prepared to get back to playing.
The decision not to air Lil Jon’s halftime show frustrated NFL fans and entertainment enthusiasts who were expecting to see Lil Jon’s full performance, especially after Fox and CBS aired Jack White and Post Malone’s performances in full, respectively. These fans took to social media to express their displeasure with NBC’s decision.
Although viewers were upset, NBC’s strategy was not new. It joins the network’s other Thanksgiving halftime presentations since it became a staple of the NFL’s holiday rotation in 2013. Each year, NBC has aired an in-depth, human-interest feature during the halftime show, followed by a short clip of the in-stadium performance.
There was a similar uproar in 2024 over the network’s decision not to air violinist/slash-dancer Lindsey Sterling’s performance at the Green Bay Packers-Miami Dolphins game. The network also aired an exclusive clip of Steve Aoki’s performance during the 2023 San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks game.
The Ravens halftime show marked the end of a busy day for Lil Jon. He also performed his hit song “Turn Down for What” on the Toys R Us float at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York at the beginning of the holiday.
