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 — and slammed mega-famous Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny as a “terrible choice” to headline.
He then named his preferred 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 view, from what I’m hearing,” Johnson, while at the U.S. Capitol building, told reporter Pablo Manríquez, who runs immigration news outlet Migrant Insider.
Born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, Bad Bunny has sold millions of albums, won three Grammys, broken world records and been credited for helping Spanish-language rap cross into the mainstream. When asked to clarify his thinking 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’s so many eyes on the Super Bowl. A lot of young, impressionable children. And I think, in my view, you would have Lee Greenwood, or role models, doing that.”
“Not somebody like this,” Johnson continued without further clarification.
Numerous other MAGA Republicans appear to have a problem with “somebody like this” helming the NFL’s coveted halftime event — including President Donald Trump, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Department of Homeland Security adviser Corey Lewandowski.
“I don’t know who he is,” Trump told NewsMax’s Greg Kelly in a phone interview Monday, adding: “I don’t know why they are doing it. It’s like crazy, and then they blame it on some 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 Roc Nation entertainment company is behind the show each year. Bad Bunny and his global reach were likely a more promising fit than 82-year-old Greenwood, who has performed his song “God Bless the USA” at several Trump events in past years.
Lewandowski threatened during a recent appearance on right-winger Benny Johnson’s podcast to have ICE agents attend the February game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Noem confirmed as much, telling Johnson: “We are going to enforce the law.”
While Bad Bunny left the U.S. out of his upcoming Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour amid fears that the Trump administration would use his shows as honeypots to ensnare immigrant fans, the superstar is an American citizen, as anyone born in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico naturally is.
