After the announcement that Bad Bunny (full name: Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio) would be headlining the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show came down, some members of the far-right have expressed disdain for the decision, and the cohosts of The View had a lot to say in response.
The rapper, a native of Puerto Rico, said in a statement of the decision, “What I’m feeling goes beyond myself. It’s for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown… this is for my people, my culture, and our history. Ve y dile a tu abuela, que seremos el HALFTIME SHOW DEL SUPER BOWL.” He’d previously declined to include the U.S. in his global tour over concerns that his patrons may be subjected to ICE raids outside of the venues. The Super Bowl will take place in Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on February 8, 2026. Bad Bunny previously performed as part of the 2020 Super Bowl with Jennifer Lopez and Shakira as headliners.
“He also has a history of speaking out against You Know Who,” Whoopi Goldberg said of the situation. “So a lot of the MAGA folks, apparently, are very upset with NFL, but they’re upset all the time.”
“Another great American performer is going to be performing. I don’t see the problem because y’all do remember Puerto Rico as part of [the United States],” she continued.
Sunny Hostin echoed her point to say, “There were people online that are like, ‘Why couldn’t they have chosen an American?’ I was like, ‘Oh, they did, though.’”
Hostin continued, “He’s truly an artist activist, and we haven’t seen that for quite some time, I think. And this is the time for that. He said that he will never forget what Donald Trump did and what he did not do when Puerto Rico needed a caring and competent leader. I think he’s talking about Hurricane Maria, and I think what’s so wonderful is that he’s not only doing the Super Bowl, he is going to be the host for the season opener of SNL. He did a 31-day residency in Puerto Rico… he performed 31 shows, and his residency brought $400 million to the island, $400 million, and then finally, he streamed it on Amazon, his last show. It was the most-watched single artist performance in Amazon music history. And so this is the type of spotlight he’s bringing to Puerto Rico, and he’s bringing money, a spotlight. He’s going to help with the infrastructure, technology, all of these things he’s doing for America. For America.”
“I’m gonna have to watch the Super Bowl, which I never do, because I think Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio is perfecto,” Ana Navarro then said. “I love what he is doing. Also, let’s think about it, because, you know, these MAGA people always think that everything is about them. The NFL is investing a lot in trying to increase fandom all over the world… They’ve been playing games in Brazil. They’ve been playing games in London. Bad Bunny is an international superstar…. He is going all over Europe, all over Latin America. He is the most-streamed artist globally … for three consecutive years. And you know what? He is good at his craft. He is a great artist. That concert in Puerto Rico, that residency he did, people went, came back … they came back awakened.”
Alyssa Farah Griffin also weighed in on the matter, saying, “It’s a business decision at the end of the day. To Ana’s point, he’s the most extreme artist on Spotify multiple years over. Also, [he] hits a new generation that you may want to be bringing in some new viewers who are going to tune in.” She suggested that perhaps the NFL will bring in a country artist to offer some genre-blending to the show.
“The bottom line is, this is what the NFL does,” Goldberg concluded. “They get the artists they want to for all the reasons everybody said, and so there should be no issue. … He said yes, so I’ll be watching.”
The View, Weekdays, 11a/10c, ABC