Despite Bad Bunny’s immense global popularity, when the Puerto Rican superstar was announced as the next Super Bowl Halftime Show performer, not everyone found it a cause for celebration. While Benito himself addressed the backlash against his selection on SNL, telling viewers they had plenty of time to learn Spanish, Roc Nation founder Jay-Z — who is largely responsible for choosing Super Bowl Halftime performers as part of his ongoing partnership with the NFL — dismissed it altogether.
When TMZ caught up with Jay on the streets of New York, asking him about the conservative pushback against Bad Bunny, he said, “They love him. Don’t let them fool you.”
The numbers certainly seem to support Jay’s supposition. In September, a live stream of the final show of Bad Bunny’s Puerto Rican residency was the most-watched single-artist performance on Amazon Music to date; his Debi Tirar Mas Fotos tour also sold out, breaking a slew of records of its own despite completely bypassing the continental United States due to Bad Bunny’s disappointment in the political situation here. The album itself became Bunny’s fourth No. 1 album And, of course, he joined the short list of musicians who have hosted Saturday Night Live twice in the same year.
