California Gov. Newsom wishes US a ‘Happy Bad Bunny Day’ ahead of Super Bowl halftime show
Gov. Gavin Newsom baited critics of Bad Bunny as the singer prepares to perform at the Super Bowl.
“Happy Bad Bunny Day, America,” Newsom wrote in a post to his personal X account at 11:50 a.m. Sunday.
The Puerto Rico-born singer will perform at the Super Bowl LX halftime show at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Newsom’s post also includes a video clip with images of Bad Bunny and President Donald Trump, with audio from an interview in which Trump calls the choice of the halftime show singer “ridiculous.”
A graphic of a burning trash dumpster labeled “Trump” floats over images of Bad Bunny performing near what appears to be a burning trash can.
The governor’s press office X account, which often features parodies of posts by Trump, had on Saturday vowed to declare today “Bad Bunny Day.” The account also posted mocking rebukes of critics of the post.
After criticizing Bad Bunny, Trump later said he would not be attending the game, although he said it was because it’s “too far” from Washington, D.C.
Outside of music, Bad Bunny has been a vocal advocate for his home of Puerto Rico, criticizing the lack of humanitarian aid in the wake of Hurricane Maria in 2017, the island’s gentrification in San Juan and has joined protests against government corruption.
He has also challenged traditional gender roles by dressing in drag for his music video “Yo Perro Sola” and has been outspoken over the killing of Alexa Negron Luciano, a transgender woman from Puerto Rico.
He has also been critical of Trump over his treatment of the Latino community.
Who is Bad Bunny?
Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer and record producer.
The Puerto Rican reggaeton artist was announced to headline the Super Bowl LX Halftime show following his historic Puerto Rico residency that drew more than a half million fans for his new album “DeBi TiRAR MaS FOToS.”
Bad Bunny’s career highlights include three Grammy Awards, 17 Latin Grammy Awards, eight Billboard Music Awards and 13 Lo Nuestro Awards. He was the most-streamed artist on Spotify from 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2025.
He rose to stardom after his 2016 song “Diles” and continued to climb with features on prominent artists songs such as Cardi B’s “I Like It.”
Since then Bad Bunny has made the U.S. Billboard 200, his second solo album, “YHLQMDLG” became the highest-charting all Spanish album to appear on the Billboard 200, followed by his compilation album “Las que no iban a salir.”
His following three albums topped the Billboard 200 with his fourth solo album — “Un Verano Sin Ti” — spending 13 weeks atop the Billboard.
That album was named the best-performing album of 2022 and became the first Spanish album to be nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
The Bee’s Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado contributed to this story.
This story was originally published February 8, 2026 at 2:08 PM.