House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Tuesday became the latest Republican lawmaker to turn the upcoming Super Bowl LX halftime show into a political debate — calling mega-famous Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny a “terrible choice” to headline.
He then named his favorite replacement for the record-breaking, Grammy-winning artist.
“I didn’t even know who Bad Bunny was, but it sounds like a terrible decision in my opinion, from what I hear,” Johnson said while at the U.S. Capitol. told reporter Pablo Manríquezwho runs the immigration news company Migrant insider.
Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, has sold millions of albums, won three Grammysbroken world records and is credited with helping Spanish-language rap reach the mainstream. When asked to clarify his thoughts on Tuesday, Johnson doubled down.
“Well, it sounds like he’s not someone who appeals to a broader audience,” he said. “And I think there are so many eyes on the Super Bowl. A lot of young, impressionable kids. And I think, in my opinion, you would let Lee Greenwood, or role models, do that.”
“Not someone like this,” Johnson continued without further clarification.
Numerous other MAGA Republicans appear to have a problem with “someone like this” running the NFL’s coveted halftime event — including President Donald Trump, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Department of Homeland Security advisor Corey Lewandowski.
“I don’t know who he is,” Trump told NewsMax’s Greg Kelly in a phone interview on Monday, adding: “I don’t know why they’re doing it. It’s like crazy, and then they blame it on a promoter that they hired to pick up entertainment. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous.”
Left: J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press; Right: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images
Jay-Z’s entertainment company Roc Nation is behind the show every year. Bad Bunny and his global reach were probably a better fit than 82-year-old Greenwood, who performed his song “God bless the USA” at various Trump events in recent years.
Lewandowski threatened to have ICE agents attend February’s game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, during a recent appearance on right winger Benny Johnson’s podcast. Noem confirmed this, telling Johnson: “We are going to enforce the law.”
While Bad Bunny left the US with his betrothed Debí Tirar Más Photos World Tour Amid fears that the Trump administration would use his shows as honeypots to ensnare immigrant fans, the superstar is a U.S. citizen, as anyone born in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico is, of course.
