When Puerto Rican singer and rapper Bad Bunny was first announced as the headliner for the forthcoming Super Bowl LX halftime show, fans around the country and world rejoiced—but detractors immediately latched onto the announcement and turned it into a massive controversy. Conservative talking heads and right-leaning activist groups like Turning Point USA have spoken out against Bad Bunny performing during the biggest football game of the year. Now, fans of country legend George Strait have created a petition to replace the “BAILE INoLVIDABLE” singer with the Texas icon on the stage.
Over 10,000 people have signed a change.org petition to replace Bad Bunny with George Strait for the Super Bowl LX halftime Show on February 8, 2026. The petition is the latest update in the wave of conservative outrage over the announcement, offering an “all-American” alternative to the reggaeton artist and worldwide phenomenon.
“The Super Bowl halftime show should unite our country, honor American culture, and remain family-friendly, not be turned into a political stunt,” reads the petition. “Bad Bunny represents none of these values; his drag performances and style are the opposite of what families expect on football’s biggest stage.”
“George Strait embodies unity, tradition, and the timeless American music that truly deserves the 2026 Super Bowl spotlight,” it continues.
A separate Change petition with the goal of replacing Bad Bunny (with no alternative stated) has already surpassed 10,000 signatures. But Facebook AI slop pages had already made AI-generated fake announcements claiming that Strait had been announced as the Super Bowl Headliner.
Why all the fuss over the Super Bowl halftime show? Well, the event has become a beacon for culture war discourse perpetuated by conservative politicians and talking heads. It’s an easy event to latch onto and milk for controversy, especially when someone like Bad Bunny is tapped to perform. Detractors are taking issue with Spanish being the primary language of the performance as well as Bad Bunny’s Puerto Rican heritage, positioning him as too un-American for the highly anticipated event.
Outside of the political games being played, the outrage fails to reckon with the fact that the NFL is a growing worldwide brand that plays several games a year outside of the United States. This season, the league has scheduled regular-season games in São Paulo, Brazil, Dublin, Ireland, and London, England, with more international games to be played in Spain and Germany. An artist like Bad Bunny, who has global appeal and a large fanbase in the United States, aligns perfectly with the direction the league is heading in.
For those barely hiding their underlying xenophobia (Puerto Rico is a United States territory, by the way), the halftime show is max, going to be 15 minutes. And Bad Bunny has addressed critics of his Super Bowl appointment during his recent Saturday Night Live monologue, stating that anyone who doesn’t understand Spanish has “four months to learn.”
