Trump adviser: ICE will be present at Bad Bunny’s 'shameful' 2026 Super Bowl halftime show

The Super Bowl is the US' most-watched television event, attracting more than 100 million viewers every year.

Last year, thanks to Kendrick Lamar’s Halftime Show, it shattered all records with 133.5 million viewers tuning in to watch K.Dot’s performance.

It’s a huge and coveted gig, which has a long history of reflecting and influencing cultural trends. And while artists don’t get paid for performing at the Halftime Show, it’s one of the most sought-after concerts in the industry, especially because of the exposure it provides.

Not that Bad Bunny needs it. The multi-Grammy Award winning Puerto Rican rapper-singer, who was announced as the headline performer for 2026’s NFL Super Bowl Halftime Show earlier this week, is one of the world’s most streamed artists and a globally celebrated ambassador for Latin music. So it makes a lot of sense that the “world’s biggest stage”, according to Jay-Z, should go to one of the world’s current biggest artists.

You just try telling staunch American Conservatives that. 

Right-wing commentator Benny Johnson has slammed the musician in an X post, calling Bad Bunny a “massive Trump hater” and an “anti-ICE activist” who has “no songs in English.”

Johnson has also criticized Bad Bunny for skipping the US, aside from his native Puerto Rico, on his last tour.

Indeed, Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, has long championed his Puerto Rican roots and has frequently criticized Donald Trump and immigration policies. The artist stated that he would continue to skip US dates because he was concerned ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents may show up at concerts to conduct raids and target his fans.

"There were many reasons why I didn’t show up in the US, and none of them were out of hate - I’ve performed there many times,” Bad Bunny told i-D magazine. “All of (the shows) have been successful. All of them have been magnificent. I’ve enjoyed connecting with Latinos who have been living in the US. But there was the issue of — like, f*cking ICE could be outside (my concert). And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”

Shortly before Bad Bunny was announced as the halftime performer, he posted a quip online about doing "just one date in the United States": "I've been thinking about it these days, and after discussing it with my team, I think I'll do just one date in the United States," he wrote in Spanish.

As if to prove the artist right, a member of the Trump administration has now confirmed that ICE will be present at the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show.  

Corey Lewandowski – who served as President Donald Trump’s 2016 and 2024 campaign manager and now advises the Department of Homeland Security – has said during an appearance on Johnson’s The Benny Show that ICE will be in attendance.

Lewandowski said: “There is nowhere you can provide safe haven to people who are in this country illegally. Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else. We will find you and apprehend you and put you in a detention facility and deport you. Know that is a very real situation under this administration, which is contrary to how it used to be.” 

He added: “It’s so shameful that they’ve decided to pick somebody who just seems to hate America so much to represent them at the Halftime game.” 

ICE raids have soared in the US with the agency aiming for 3,000 minimum arrests a day since May.

Bad Bunny will take to the Super Bowl stage on 8 February 2026 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.