Jennifer Lopez is coming to Bad Bunny's defense after the Puerto Rican rapper faced backlash online and from government officials following his Super Bowl performance.
Lopez, who co-headlined the Super Bowl in 2020 alongside Shakira, is speaking out amid the complaints, which came as a surprise to the singer.
“What do you make of the controversy?” Melvin asked Lopez during her appearance on the TODAY show on Monday, Oct. 6. “Is there controversy?” she replied. “I swear I don’t know.”
When the “Can't Get Enough” singer asked why, Melvin responded, “You’d have to ask them. He’s wildly popular, but for a lot of folks, they have said, it should be someone else.”
Following the NFL's announcement that Bad Bunny will be the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show headliner, Homeland Security adviser Corey Lewandowski stated that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents would be present at the Super Bowl. The rapper chose not to perform his Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour in the states, with his only U.S. performances in his homeland of Puerto Rico in protest against ICE. The Super Bowl will be his only state performance as he has taken his tour globally.
“But why? I don’t understand that. He’s one of the top artists in the world right now, probably the top,” Lopez reacted to Melvin's answer.
“It could be a lot of different people. That’s the thing. I’m super excited for people to see him,” she added. “I think they’ll be pleasantly surprised because his music transcends language. It’s amazing what he’s done. He’s done something that a lot of people have never done in their life.”
Lopez and Bad Bunny performed together during her Super Bowl co-headlining show when he appeared as a special guest. The singer is excited to see him put on for their culture at the Super Bowl.
“I’m so excited for him. I was excited when he performed with us at the Super Bowl and I’m excited to see what he does. He puts on a great show. He’s an amazing entertainer,” she said.
How has Bad Bunny responded to the backlash?
Bad Bunny poked fun at the backlash he's received and spoke about it during his monologue on Saturday Night Live over the weekend.
During his monologue he addressed “all the Latinos and Latinas in the entire world and here in the United States” in Spanish by saying, “More than being an accomplishment of mine, it’s an accomplishment for everybody, demonstrating that our mark and our contribution to this country will never be able to be removed or erased by anybody,” he said in Spanish.
He added, in English, poking fun at those criticizing the fact that his songs are in Spanish, “If you didn’t understand what I just said, you have four months to learn.”
“What I'm feeling goes beyond myself. It's for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown… this is for my people, my culture, and our history. Ve y dile a tu abuela, que seremos el HALFTIME SHOW DEL SUPER BOWL,” he said in a statement.
