Turning Point USA, the conservative group founded by Charlie Kirk, has announced that it will be putting on its own halftime show while Bad Bunny will conduct the official performance at next year’s Super Bowl.
While millions tune in to watch the NFL action every year, there’s no doubt others stick the Super Bowl on just for the halftime show.
Anticipation has been building over who will appear at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, in February 2026, with the NFL recently announcing Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny has been booked for the major event.
The choice of next year’s act has ruffled some feathers in the White House, however, most notably President Donald Trump, who deemed it ‘crazy’.
Now, Turning Point USA has confirmed it will be offering an alternative to the Super Bowl LX halftime show, which will celebrate ‘faith, family and freedom’.
Charlie Kirk founded Turning Point USA (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
“It’s true, Turning Point USA is thrilled to announce The All American Halftime Show,” a Twitter post by the group read. “Performers and event details coming soon.”
Bad Bunny has received a lot of backlash from conservative commentators, in particular, after the singer decided against bringing his tour to the US out of fear that ICE would target those heading to the concert.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has since confirmed that ICE agents would be present at the Super Bowl.
“I have the responsibility for making sure everybody who goes to the Super Bowl has the opportunity to enjoy it and to leave, and that’s what America is about,” she said on The Benny Show podcast.
“So yeah, we’ll be all over that place. We’re going to enforce the law.”
Bad Bunny has faced some criticism (Cindy Ord/Getty Images for FLC)
On Saturday (October 4), Bad Bunny used his hosting slot on the 51st season of Saturday Night Live to shut down further criticism.
He said to cheers: “I’m doing the Super Bowl halftime show and I’m very happy,” adding sarcastically: “And I think everyone is very happy about it. Even Fox News.”
The announcement from Turning Point USA is one of the biggest since Erika Kirk, Kirk’s wife, took over as CEO following the assassination of her husband.
The right-wing commentator was shot dead at an event organized by Turning Point USA at Utah Valley University last month.
22-year-old suspect Tyler Robinson – who is currently being held in custody without bail – is facing a number of charges, including aggravated murder, obstruction of justice, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, witness tampering, and commission of a violent offence in the presence of a child.
Featured Image Credit: Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Politicon
Bad Bunny hits back at Super Bowl halftime show backlash after warnings ICE will be ‘all over’
Bad Bunny also issued a four-word quip for anyone planning on watching the upcoming performance
Noem’s statement came after the ‘un x100to’ singer announced he wouldn’t be taking his Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour to the US due to the Trump administration’s use of ICE for immigration crackdown.
On Saturday (October 4), Bad Bunny used his hosting slot on the 51st season of Saturday Night Live to shut down further criticism.
He said to cheers: “I’m doing the Super Bowl halftime show and I’m very happy,” adding sarcastically: “And I think everyone is very happy about it. Even Fox News.”
The monologue then cut to clips of Fox News hosts edited together to say: “Bad Bunny is my favourite musician and he should be the next president.”
“I’m very excited to be doing the Super Bowl, I know that people all around the world who love my music are also happy,” the Caught Stealing actor continued.
“Especially all of the Latinos and Latinas in the world here in the United States who have worked to open doors,” he continued in Spanish, as per the New York Times.
“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.”
In English, the three-time Grammy winner added: “If you didn’t understand what I just said. You have four months to learn.”
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The Puerto Rican has previously said he won’t be bringing his world tour to the United States (Rosalind O’Connor/NBC)
Fans have flocked to social media to have their say on Bad Bunny’s SNL monologue, with one typing: “Duolingo for the Gringos, ya’ll got 4 months to learn!!! Nuevaaaaayollllllllllllll….”
A second commented: “Benitobowl in 4 months!”
“I don’t understand the uproar. BB is a hugely successful entertainer who is hot at the moment. Many English-speaking artists do concerts in countries that don’t speak English. Music is universal. Enjoy the music as you eat your wings. The game will resume shortly. No biggie,” replied someone else.
Another wrote: “Love him even more now.”
Before being named as the next Super Bowl headliner, Bad Bunny revealed to i-D magazine why he’d decided he didn’t want to ‘show up’ in the United States.
“There were many reasons why I didn’t show up in the U.S., and none of them were out of hate — I’ve performed there many times. All of [the shows] have been successful,” he claimed.
“But there was the issue of — like, f**king ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
The NFL has been called out for its decision to book Bad Bunny by Corey Lewandowski.
The 52-year-old serves as a key adviser at the Department of Homeland Security and called the American Football bosses’ decision ‘shameful’
“[It’s] so shameful that they’ve decided to pick somebody who just seems to hate America so much to represent them at the halftime game,” he explained.
In response, Imani Cheers, an associate professor of digital storytelling at George Washington University, told The Hill: “The Super Bowl has in recent years really become a real cultural moment for the country to come together, and [it] provokes a lot of conversation, whether you’re a football fan or not.
“There’s always going to be critics. Anyone who is upset about Bad Bunny on the MAGA right is upset because they want to be.”
Featured Image Credit: NBC
Here’s the reason why Kendrick Lamar wasn’t paid for his Super Bowl halftime show at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans yesterday (February 9).
While the Philadelphia Eagles soared to a 40-22 victory against Travis Kelce‘s Kansas City Chiefs at Super Bowl LIX, what happens on the NFL field tells only half the story.
We also saw Taylor Swift being ‘aggressively booed’ and surprise appearances from Donald Trump and Samuel L Jackson.
But, of course, the main reason why many people tuned in was to see Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show.
It’s not Lamar’s first time at the halftime show as he’d previously stepped out alongside Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg in 2022 – but this time, it’ll be his stage – with SZA since having being confirmed as a guest performer.
It’s fair to say Lamar didn’t disappoint, with many on tenterhooks as to if he would play his controversial Drake diss ‘Not Like Us’ (he did, but censored the track’s most controversial line).
He also invited Serena Williams on stage, which particularly got people talking as the tennis star was rumored to have dated Drake back in 2011.
But many people will be wondering how much cold hard cash Lamar will be taking home.
How much do Super Bowl halftime performers get paid?
Kendrick Lamar didn’t disappoint (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
The NFL has said in the past it does not pay their artists – though they do cover expenses and production costs, according to NME.
New York resident Joe Pompliano, who authors a newsletter breaking down ‘the money and business behind sports’, shared a post on LinkedIn explaining how Super Bowl performers are compensated for their time.
According to Pompliano, Apple Music pays the NFL $50 million each year to sponsor the Super Bowl halftime show, and artists involved get approximately $15 million to spend on their production.
The hefty budget is set to ‘2,000 to 3,000 part-time workers, including set design, security, dancers, and marketing’, Pompliano went on, but it doesn’t cover a wage for the artist.
Samuel L Jackson made a surprise appearance during Lamar’s show (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
And while you may think why do artists decide to do the job for free, they do see benefits in other ways as a result of doing the Super Bowl halftime show.
For example, Forbes reports Usher saw a massive 550 percent boost in Spotify streaming after his performance last year, while Rihanna’s streams went up by 640 following her gig in 2023.
The Super Bowl involves so much money – heck, some companies are reportedly willing to pay as much as $7 million for just 30 seconds of ad time at the mega sporting event, which only highlights how valuable that screen time is.
Featured Image Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty
