Dropkick Murphys' frontman and Massachusetts native, Ken Casey, has now weighed in on the right bashing Bad Bunny being the Super Bowl Halftime Show performer
13:59 ET, 23 Oct 2025
Ken Casey and Bad Bunny
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Dropkick Murphy's singer called Bad Bunny a 'true American' amid his Halftime show controversy
Dropkick Murphys' frontman, Ken Casey, has called Bad Bunny a "true American" as he once again slams President Donald Trump's administration.
The 56-year-old and his band have long been outspoken critics of the president. After all, hailing from Boston, Massachusetts, they kinda have to be antiauthoritarian. Now, the Massachusetts native is calling for punk artists and musicians to "never take s--- from a bully," and to "stand up and push back" against Trump and his agenda, which includes bashing Bad Bunny for being the Super Bowl Halftime Show performer.
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The NFL revealed their choice during halftime of the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers game on Sept. 28. Since then, the 31-year-old Puerto Rican rapper, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, has faced backlash from many of Trump's supporters for being selected. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has even confirmed that ICE agents will be stationed at the big game, in a direct poke at Bad Bunny's fear of them being at his shows.
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In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Casey weighed in on the controversy, saying, "I had never really listened to Bad Bunny's music, but after his performance in Happy Gilmore 2, I will go to the mat for that guy. God bless his heart. He is a true, true American."
Ken Casey of Dropkick Murphys
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Ken Casey of Dropkick Murphys has opened up about the backlash Bad Bunny has gotten about being the Super Bowl Halftime performer
"[The administration] just wants to control everything, every narrative. There's way bigger problems in the world than who is at the halftime show at the Super Bowl," he added, noting his appreciation for how the artist had handled the backlash to his activism.
"If you don’t get involved now, you might lose your chance to get involved later," Casey continued. "Maybe if you keep your mouth shut and you just go along and get along, it might not affect you yet, but it's going to affect you eventually."
Over the last year, Casey and the Dropkick Murphys have become increasingly vocal about their views on the president. In July, they dedicated their new single First Class Loser to Trump during their performance at Warped Tour in Long Beach, California, and criticized the president for his alleged connections to sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein.
In March, they slammed a fan waving around a MAGA hat, telling him to "shut the f--- up" while they "play a song about our grandparents and people who fought Nazis." Casey told the fan, "This is America, there's no kings here."
However, Casey noted their outspokenness is nothing new. He and the band are "doing what we've done for 30 years, playing music for the people."
Bad Bunny
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Bad Bunny has addressed the backlash he's gotten from Trump's followers(Image: Getty)
Bad Bunny addressed being chosen for the Super Bowl Halftime Show during the Season 51 premiere of Saturday Night Live. He joked, "I'm very happy, and I think everyone is happy about it, even Fox News," before the show then cut to spliced-together footage from the right-wing news channel, which said, "Bad Bunny is my favorite musician. He should be the next president."
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He added, "Thank you. Wow, thank you. But really, I am very excited to be doing the Super Bowl, and I know that people all around the world who love my music are also happy." The singer then began speaking in Spanish for a few seconds, finishing up his monologue saying, "If you did not understand what I just said… You have four months to learn."
During the Spanish portion of his monologue, the singer thanked fellow artists who paved the way for him, saying some other words aimed at his critics.
He concluded, "Especially all of the Latinos and Latinas in the world here in the United States who have worked to open doors. 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."