Super Bowl 2026: America Split Over Halftime Show

This article is published in collaboration with Statista

by Tristan Gaudiaut

Bad Bunny's selection for the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show has become a new flashpoint in the American "culture war". The Puerto Rican singer, who just won the Album of the Year at the 2026 Grammy Awards, will be the first Latino and Spanish-speaking artist to perform as a solo headliner at the Super Bowl. If the choice appears justified for some, it sparked outrage among others, especially within the MAGA movement. President Donald Trump, conservative commentators and some elected officials have voiced criticism regarding Bad Bunny's selection, citing the artist's critical stances on Trump or ICE, as well as its Spanish‑language music. While this controversy reflects the current political atmosphere in the U.S., it also demonstrates that the Super Bowl is much more than just a sporting event in the country.

A recent The Economist/YouGov poll (Jan. 30-Feb. 2, 2026) suggests the American public is divided on Bad Bunny's appearance at the halftime show, while plenty of people also simply don't care. Overall, Americans are split evenly between being satisfied (28 percent) and dissatisfied (28 percent), whereas 34 percent say they don't care (and 11 percent "not sure"). As our infographic shows, political partisanship is a clear fault line in this controversy: Democrats are strongly favorable to the Puerto Rican artist's participation (52 percent satisfied, 8 percent dissatisfied), while Republicans are overwhelmingly negative about it (12 percent satisfied, 53 percent dissatisfied). For their part, Independents are characterized by a certain detachment on this matter (43 percent don't care).

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