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Legendary rapper Jay-Z spoke out in defense Bad Bunny amid controversy over the Puerto Rican artist being booked to perform at the Super Bowl LX halftime show.
Jay-Z's Roc Nation co-produces the NFL halftime show and reportedly makes the final decision on the title each year. This year, Bad Bunny's choice sparked backlash from fans.
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Bad Bunny performs on the Coachella stage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California on Friday, April 21, 2023. (Jay Calderon/Desert Sun/USA TODAY NETWORK)
But Jay-Z didn't buy the outrage.
“They love him. Don't let them fool you,” he said. TMZ Sport on Monday evening.
Jay-Z didn't go too far, telling a TMZ reporter that he “doesn't have any information for you.”
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell defended Bad Bunny's choice despite the Grammy Award winner's comments about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over the past year.
“It's been carefully considered,” Goodell said of the decision-making process for the show's hiatus. “I'm not sure we've ever picked an artist that didn't get backlash or criticism. That's pretty hard to do when there are literally hundreds of millions of people watching.”
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Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, has come under fire from the president. Donald Trump and his supporters have been exposed to his public comments about the president and his administration. The 31-year-old expressed concerns about ICE, so he decided to take up residence in his native Puerto Rico to avoid stops in the United States.
Last month, he said he had not booked U.S. dates for his tour because of concerns that his fans would be detained by ICE agents.
“But the problem was that damn ICE might be outside. [my concert]. And this is something we talked about and were very worried about,” he told iD.
Bad Bunny also recorded and posted videos on Puerto Rican social media of what he described as local ICE raids.
“Look, these motherfuckers are sitting in these cars, RAV-4s. They are here in Pontezuela,” he said in Spanish, referring to ICE working on Avenida Pontezuela in Carolina, a city east of Puerto Rico’s capital San Juan.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell observes a press conference at the Caesars Superdome on February 3, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana, before the NFL Super Bowl LIX football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)
Some NFL fans had a problem not only with these comments, but also with the fact that all of his hits were performed in Spanish. But Goodell has no doubts about the show he expects from Bad Bunny.
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“We are confident it will be a great show,” Goodell said. “He understands the platform he's on and I think it's going to be an exciting and unified moment.”
Fox News' Scott Thompson contributed to this report.
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