NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has defended the decision to chose Bad Bunny as the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show headliner

Goodell said at NFL league meetings on Wednesday (22.10.25): "It's carefully thought through.

"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... We're confident it's going to be a great show.

"He understands the platform that he's on, and I think it's going to be exciting and a united moment."

Goodell explained that Bad Bunny - who performs primarily in Spanish - had been selected to play the Super Bowl as he is one of the planet's "leading" entertainers.

The NFL chief said: "He's one of the leading and most popular entertainers in the world. That's what we try to achieve. It's an important stage for us. It's an important element to the entertainment value."

The decision was met with a backlash by Trump and his allies after Bad Bunny refused to take his world tour to the US amid concerns that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers could harm fans at his gigs.

The US President suggested recently that it was "absolutely ridiculous" for Bad Bunny to perform at the Super Bowl and suggested that he had never heard of the artist.

The White House chief told Newsmax's Greg Kelly: "I don't know who he is. I don't know why they're doing it - it's, like crazy.

"They blame it on some promoter they hired to pick up entertainment. I think it's absolutely ridiculous."

However, Colombian pop star Shakira expressed her delight at the decision to give Bad Bunny the headline slot.

The Hips Don't Lie hitmaker - who performed with Bad Bunny during her own halftime show back in 2020 - told Variety: "It's about time!

"I remember when we did ours that even having part of our set in Spanish was a bold move... Acceptance of Spanish-language music as part of the mainstream has come so far from when I started.

"I hope and like to think that all the times my music was met with resistance or puzzlement from the English-speaking world before it was embraced, helped forge the path to where we are now.

"And I'm so proud that Bad Bunny, who represents not only Latin culture but also how important Spanish language music has become on a global scale and how universal it has become, is getting to perform on the biggest stage in the world.

"It's the perfect moment for a performance like this. I can't wait to watch it."