The announcement that Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny will headline the Super Bowl halftime show has triggered a major cultural and political clash, with conservative commentators on X (formerly Twitter) launching an angry campaign against the decision.
The primary source of the outrage stems from a music video for his 2020 single 'Yo Perreo Sola' (I Twerk Alone), in which the artist dressed in drag to show support for the LGBTQ+ community.
Bad Bunny previously explained his artistic choice, saying, 'I may not be gay, but I’m a human who cares.' Despite his stated intent, conservative accounts have vehemently criticised the choice, with one calling him a 'cross dressing Drag Show Satanic Anti-American dude' and another labelling the upcoming performance a 'national disgrace.' Calls for a boycott of the NFL have also been widely shared, with critics citing a perceived shift towards 'wokeness,' including the earlier controversies over kneeling athletes and the presence of trans and male cheerleaders.
This intense reaction highlights the ongoing politicisation of pop culture in the US, where artistic expression is often framed as a battleground in the culture wars.
The NFL and Apple Music, the show's sponsor, are now facing the fallout of choosing one of the world's most-streamed artists, whose image and messages clash sharply with a segment of the American conservative base.
The controversy ensures that the Super Bowl halftime show will be one of the most talked-about in recent memory, well before the first football is kicked.
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