Jay-Z isn’t letting chatter about the Super Bowl halftime show get him down. The rapper, whose Roc Nation produces the event, recently defended Bad Bunny’s selection as the halftime show performer.
“They love him,” Jay-Z told TMZ of the Puerto Rican superstar. “Don’t let them fool you.”
While plenty of people do love Bad Bunny—he’s the most streamed artist in the world, after all—critics to his selection have been loud.
In fact, an online petition calling for Bad Bunny to be replaced by George Strait as the halftime show performer has garnered more than 90,000 signatures.
Despite that, the NFL and others have stood by their choice to tap Bad Bunny for the prestigious gig.
“He’s one of the leading and most popular entertainers in the world,” Commissioner Roger Goodell recently told reporters. “That’s what we try to achieve.”
“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,” he added. “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.”
Bad Bunny Receives Support from Superstars Amid Halftime Show Backlash
Additionally, both Shakira and Jennifer Lopez, who invited Bad Bunny as a guest during their 2020 Super Bowl halftime performance, spoke out in support of the Puerto Rican singer.
“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,” Shakira told Variety. “It’s the perfect moment for a performance like this. I can’t wait to watch it.”
Lopez concurred during an appearance on Today, stating, “I’m super excited for people to see him.”
“I think they’ll be pleasantly surprised because his music transcends language,” she added. “It’s amazing what he’s done. He’s done something that a lot of people have never done in their life… He puts on a great show. He’s an amazing entertainer.”
Super Bowl LX will take place Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Photo by Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images