*NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell made clear Wednesday that the league has no plans to remove Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny from his role as the headlining act for the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show. The decision, announced in late September, sparked strong reactions, including criticism from President Donald Trump.
ESPN reports that Goodell, speaking at a news conference following the NFL’s fall meeting, defended the selection process. “It’s carefully thought through,” he said. “I’m not sure we’ve ever selected an artist where we didn’t have some blowback or criticism. It’s pretty hard to do when you have literally hundreds of millions of people that are watching.”
Bad Bunny has criticized Trump’s immigration policies and opted to perform a 31-day residency in Puerto Rico rather than tour the mainland U.S., citing concerns about mass deportations of Latinos. The 31-year-old Grammy-winner, who performs in Spanish, is expected to do so at Super Bowl LX. The big game will take place on February 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
“We’re confident it’s going to be a great show,” Goodell said. “He understands the platform that he’s on, and I think it’s going to be exciting and a united moment.”
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Trump, when asked about the selection during a Newsmax interview, dismissed the performer entirely. “I don’t know who he is,” he said. “I don’t know why they’re doing it. It’s, like, crazy. And then they blame it on some promoter they hired to pick up entertainment. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous.”
Goodell emphasized that the decision was based purely on popularity and global reach. “He’s one of the leading and most popular entertainers in the world,” Goodell said. “That’s what we try to achieve. It’s an important stage for us. It’s an important element to the entertainment value.”
Meanwhile, Department of Homeland Security adviser Corey Lewandowski confirmed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will have an increased presence at the Santa Clara event. “There is nowhere that you can provide safe haven to people in this country illegally. Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else,” he said.
Lewandowski criticized the NFL’s decision, claiming, “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.” He added, “We should be trying to be inclusive and not exclusive.”
Bad Bunny, in response, celebrated the opportunity to represent his community. “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,” he said.
Still, he has voiced concerns about performing in the U.S. “But there was the issue of — like, f—ing ICE could be outside [my concerts]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about,” he told i-D Magazine.
MORE NEWS ON EURWEB.COM: Turning Point USA Plans Rival ‘All-American Halftime Show’ as Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Performance Sparks Political Backlash
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