Bad Bunny Responds To Super Bowl Backlash During ‘SNL’ Monologue

Bad Bunny took an opportunity during his opening monologue as Saturday Night Live host this week to mock the backlash against his upcoming Super Bowl Halftime performance. 

“I’m very happy,” Bad Bunny said of the opportunity. “And I think everyone is happy about it. Even Fox News.”

SNL then played a supercut of clips from conservatives criticizing the NFL for booking a Spanish-language artist, re-editing comments to make them collectively say: “Bad Bunny is my favorite musician, and he should be the next president.”

Bad Bunny then offered a heartfelt moment of thanks and solidarity, delivered in Spanish. 

“Especially all of the Latinos and Latinas in the world here in the United States who have worked to open doors,” Bad Bunny said in Spanish. “It’s more than a win for myself, it’s a win for all of us. Our footprints and our contribution in this country, no one will ever be able to take that away or erase it.”

He then delivered the punchline.

“If you didn’t understand what I just said, you have four months to learn.”

Bad Bunny was announced as the Super Bowl Halftime performer a few weeks after the Grammy winner explained some of his reasoning for leaving the U.S. out of his tour plans. Speaking to iD. Magazine, he cited the potential presence of I.C.E. being a primary concern. 

“But specifically, for a residency here in Puerto Rico, when we are an unincorporated territory of the U.S.,” he added, “People from the U.S. could come here to see the show. Latinos and Puerto Ricans of the United States could also travel here, or to any part of the world. But there was the issue of — like, f------ I.C.E. could be outside (my concert). And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”