Puerto Rican rapper Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, who goes by the stage name Bad Bunny, performs on stage at his Dec. 10 show in Mexico City. (Alfredo Estrella – AFP / Getty Images)
By Samuel Short and January 23, 2026 at 10:39am
At this point, instead of watching the Super Bowl halftime show, just take a bathroom break.
Puerto Rican rapper Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, known by the ridiculous stage name Bad Bunny, has decided to use the opportunity not to entertain, but to honor “queer icons.”
Radar Online reported Thursday the Puerto Rican’s performance will also see him pay homage to “generations of drag, resistance and cultural rebellion.”
The outlet relayed comments by those close to the artist about the upcoming show.
“He loves controversy. He lives to push envelopes,” one stylist said.
“He is 100 percent going to wear a dress. A political thunderbolt disguised as couture.”
“He’s not playing it safe. The NFL has no idea what’s coming. Zero,” another source added.
As if the Super Bowl halftime show couldn’t get any worse, Bad Bunny is planning on wearing a dress to “honor queers” 🤦🏼♂️
If you weren’t planning already, you should boycott the halftime show.
Shame on you @nflcommish for allowing this nonsense. pic.twitter.com/mxPavIvmAb
— Jon Root (@JonnyRoot_) January 23, 2026
Ironically, for what’s considered acceptable by today’s cultural norms, this is playing it incredibly safe. Nothing will go over better with droves of screeching leftists, mainstream media outlets, the celebrity class, and the ideologues that push their dogma than a man wearing a dress.
Wearing drag, being “queer,” and just generally acting like what would be considered strange 20 years ago is now the most normal manner of behaving.
He isn’t railing against the establishment; he’s just trying to put off the NFL’s conservative audience — an audience that, in the general cultural sphere, has never dominated it.
Culture leans left, after all.
Families and children watching at home, should they tune in, will now be subjected to the spectacle of a man in a dress.
For years, the LGBT crowd insisted their lifestyle was a personal choice, and they insisted they were not interested in influencing future generations. But in recent yeas, they’ve done an about-face, proudly taunting, “We are coming for your children.”
Drag queen story hour and “gender affirming care” already made this evident.
A truly norm-breaking performance would be one without any social commentary or political messaging — left or right — at all.
What if the halftime show was just good and everyone enjoyed it? How radical that would be.
Meanwhile, Total Pro Sports reported Turning Point USA’s alternative halftime show is “100 percent on,” although few details are known.
Whatever TPUSA has planned, assuredly, families won’t see men in dresses.
Sam Short is an Instructor of History with Motlow State Community College in Smyrna, Tennessee. He holds a BA in History from Middle Tennessee State University and an MA in History from University College London. The views expressed in his articles are his own and do not reflect the views or opinions of Motlow State Community College.
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