Who is Bad Bunny? Everything you need to know about the Super Bowl halftime show star

The NFL is used to making waves with the selection of its Super Bowl halftime show performer, but none were met with more anger than Bad Bunny. The international mega star and proud Puerto Rican has sold out shows around the world, starred in movies, won a WWE championship, hosted Saturday Night Live, and even appeared at the Super Bowl halftime show before. If you’re not familiar with his career or the furor about his performance, don’t worry — because we’ve got you covered.

Who is Bad Bunny?

Born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, just outside of San Juan, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio came from a blue collar background where his father was a truck driver, and his mother was a school teacher. Raised a devout Roman Catholic, Martínez sang in the Church Choir until the age of 13, when his musical interests took a turn. Developing a strong interest in both Puerto Rican hip hop and traditional salsa music, the teenager developed the stage name “Bad Bunny,” as an inside joke with his mother, who made him dress up in a bunny costume as a child, which the boy was furious about. It was this time he began creating his own music, garnering attention online from record producers.

Bad Bunny was signed to a record label at 22 and released his first major hit “Soy Peor” the same year, which reached No. 19 on the hot Latin charts. Two more singles followed suit, and it wasn’t long before Apple Music hired Bad Bunny to host their first Spanish language show on Beats 1 Trap Kingz. It was here that the musicians career reached the statosphere.

With three charting Latin songs, Bad Bunny collaborated with Cardi B on I Like It, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts in 2018. He then followed with another collaboration Mia, with Drake — which turned Bad Bunny into a household name. His debut album  X 100pre reached No. 11 on the Billboard 200, and his followup Oasis reached No. 9. Bad Bunny became an international sensation, despite performing his music entirely in Spanish.

In 2020 Bad Bunny made his first appearance during a Super Bowl halftime show, being a guest star in the Latin-themed LIV show in Miami alongside Shakira and Jennifer Lopez. Since that time he’s become one of the biggest musical acts in the world, both in Latin charts and the Billboard 100 — releasing seven studio albums in the span of eight years, while also touring the world.

Involvement in politics and activism

Bad Bunny has not shied away from political action during his rise to stardom and beyond. He was highly critical of the federal government’s lack of disaster response to Hurricane Maria in 2017. In 2019 he cancelled a tour early to return to Puerto Rico and protest against Ricardo Rosselló, a left wing politician who had been accused of corruption and homophobia in leaked text messages.

A strong advocate of LGBTQ+ rights, Bad Bunny wore a shirt on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to raise awareness to the killing of Alexa Negrón Luciano, a transgender woman who was the victim of a hate crime. The musician later performed in drag during his music video for the song “Yo Perreo Sola,” aimed at both challenging traditional views of masculinity, as well as shining a light on violence towards women.

In 2024 Bad Bunny was critical of comedian Tony Hinchcliffe who referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage” during a rally for then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Super Bowl halftime show fiasco

When the NFL announced that Bad Bunny would be the performer at this year’s Super Bowl halftime show a variety of right wing influencers and news personalities slammed the decision as being “un-American,” despite the fact Puerto Rico is part of the United States. This then pivoted to criticism of Bad Bunny’s music being performed in Spanish, and that somehow being unrepresentative of “American values.”

During his 2025 tour, Bad Bunny cancelled shows that were being performed in cities with strong ICE presences, saying he was concerned about potential harassment of members of his crew, simply because of their skin color. He instead returned to Puerto Rico to perform these shows locally.

Bad Bunny said accepting the invitation to perform at the Super Bowl was motivated in part to raise awareness of a system that celebrates Latin American music and culture, while ignoring systemic racism that plagues the community. As a result of these statements, and his open criticism of President Trump, Bad Bunny has been widely criticized by the president’s supporters in the media.

Other accomplishments

• Bad Bunny joined WWE in 2021 during a tour of Puerto Rico and remained a semi-regular performer who appeared during the 2021 and 2022 Royal Rumble events. He would go on to win the 24/7 Championship, as well as a landmark in-ring win over Damien Priest at Backlash 2023.
• The musician has hosted Saturday Night Live twice, and been a musical guest on four occasions. Each time he has been a part of sketches, particularly working with cast member Marcello Hernandez.
• Bad Bunny has appeared in five feature films: F9, Bullet Train, Cassandro, Happy Gilmore 2, and Caught Stealing