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Marjorie Taylor Greene has hit out at Spanish-language rapper Bad Bunny over his impending Super Bowl performance by calling for Congress to make English the official language of the U.S.
In a post on X Monday, the far-right congresswoman called Bad Bunny's selection "perverse" and "unwanted", while accusing the NFL of putting on "demonic sexual performances" during its halftime shows.
"Bad Bunny says America has four months to learn Spanish before his perverse unwanted performance at the Super Bowl halftime. It would be a good time to pass my bill to make English the official language of America," Taylor Greene said.
That was in response to the Puerto Rican musician's guest appearance on Saturday Night Live at the weekend, in which he told audiences after speaking a few phrases in Spanish: "If you didn’t understand what I just said, you have four months to learn."
Known in ordinary life as Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, Bad Bunny speaks both English and Spanish but famously sticks to the latter in his music and public appearances. He has also repeatedly criticized President Donald Trump.
Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio (aka Bad Bunny) has previously said he’s reluctant to perform in the continental U.S. lest his fans be targeted by ICE
Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio (aka Bad Bunny) has previously said he’s reluctant to perform in the continental U.S. lest his fans be targeted by ICE (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
Though English remains by far the main language of American life, Congress has never officially designated it as such. In March, Trump signed an executive order to that effect, but it's unclear how much legal force that has.
Taylor Greene's law, also proposed in March, would make English "the official language of the United States" and require anyone wanting to become a naturalized citizen to "read and understand" the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence in English.
The NFL announced last week that Bad Bunny, one of the world's most-streamed artists and a three-time Grammy winner, would perform the halftime show at next year's Super Bowl LIV.
"What I’m feeling goes beyond myself," Bad Bunny said in a statement. "This is for my people, my culture, and our history." Then he switched to Spanish, and concluded: "Go and tell your grandma that we will be the SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOW!
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Trump officials and allies were outraged, with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem vowing to station ICE agents at the Super Bowl to catch anyone who is not a "law-abiding American who love[s] this country".
Referring to the NFL, she said: "They suck, and we’ll win, and God will bless us, and we’ll stand and be proud of ourselves at the end of the day, and they won’t be able to sleep at night, because they don’t know what they believe, and they’re so weak, we’ll fix it.”
Conservative commentator Benny Johnson said the NFL was "self-destructing", while anti-DEI campaigner Robbie Starbuck accused it of "pushing left-wing social issues".
Podcaster Josie Glabach called Bad Bunny "a demonic Marxist", and Fox News host Tomi Lahren falsely claimed that he as "not an American artist".
Puerto Rico, where Bad Bunny was born and biased, is a U.S. territory.