Super Bowl Sunday is usually a guaranteed draw for sports bars, but one California venue is now facing fallout after a move that caught customers off guard.
On Reddit, user Perfect-Grab-7553 shared a post detailing how they went to The Walnut Room in Tustin, California to watch the Super Bowl and had been anticipating the halftime show.
When the performance began staff apparently switched the main screens and house audio to a Kid Rock special instead of watching Bad Bunny's performance.
The original poster (OP) questioned the decision, saying that regardless of political views a sportsbar should not interrupt the biggest game of the year for unrelated programming. They said the move felt intentional rather than accidental.
Confused Patrons
According to the post, the abrupt change drained the atmosphere inside the bar. The energy in the room dropped as confused patrons looked around while the halftime show was no longer visible.
The OP said many customers including themselves paid their tabs and left immediately. They warned others seeking a sports-focused venue to avoid the establishment.
‘Way to destroy your business'
Critics focused on both the interruption of the halftime show and the business's alleged reply to reviewers.
"Imagine having to tell people you had to close your business because of Kid Rock… in 2026," one remarked.
A contributor shared, "I heard The Walnut Room in Tustin, CA sucks!"
The remark reflected how quickly frustration online can translate into public criticism aimed at a specific location.
Meanwhile, a pundit shared, "The owner just posted this reply on Yelp to all the negative reviews about them cutting away during halftime. Way to destroy your business… just wow."
That comment included the apparent response from the bar's owner on Yelp which said, "We are obviously a country bar and Steeler bar.
“I'm very sorry if some of you were offended by us switching to pro-Americaconcert instead of a concert that we could not even understand cause it was in Spanish."
Review Bombed
A number of Yelp reviews also criticized the bar, including one which claimed, "Food is terrible, stale and very low quality. The owners are unkind and clearly not mentally well. Don’t bother. Go elsewhere."
Another person wrote, "The food tasted off and the place had a really strange smell, to the point that I wished bars allowed smoking again. Just to mask to smell and taste of the food.
“Also the owner threatened to deport me if I didn’t give a five-star review. Not coming back."
In response to the ongoing reviews, Yelp announced that they had "temporarily disabled" reviews for the bar's page.
Halftime Shows and Political Debate
The Super Bowl halftime show has become one of the most-watched musical events of the year, often drawing tens of millions of viewers.
However, many prominent conservatives, including PresidentDonald Trump, have criticized Bad Bunny's performance.
"The Super Bowl Halftime Show is absolutely terrible, one of the worst, EVER!" Trump wrote in a TruthSocial post, Newsweek reported.
"Nobody understands a word this guy is saying, and the dancing is disgusting, especially for young children that are watching from throughout the U.S.A., and all over the World."
In an effort to protest the performance, Turning Point USA previously held an alternative halftime show featuring a performance from Kid Rock, as was mentioned in the Reddit post.
Newsweek has reached out to Perfect-Grab-7553 for comment via Reddit and The Walnut Room via Instagram. We could not verify the details of the case.
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