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At the end of the day, there may be no one with a truly honest review of the Super Bowl halftime show, its critics and its praise more than Stephen A. Smith.
The ESPN mogul, who has been critical of President Donald Trump, said from the beginning that he would not give an evaluation of Bad Bunny solely to oppose conservatives like “anti-Trump and anti-right” people.
“That’s not me, I don’t give a damn. I’m impartial, mediocre,” Smith said on his eponymous show.
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Bad Bunny performs at the Apple Music Halftime Show during the NFL Super Bowl LX football game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots at Levi’s Stadium on February 8, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. (Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
Smith said Bad Bunny’s performance was “a very good show” and “the vibe was great.” However, he agreed with Trump and other conservatives that the program was almost exclusively in Spanish.
“This is my only qualm: You’re in the United States of America and you do almost an entire performance in Spanish…” Smith said, adding that Trump made a “legitimate point” about the lack of English. “If you didn’t understand Spanish, you were lost.”
“It would have been nice to see some people celebrating Hispanic heritage, for sure,” Smith continued, mentioning Shakira and Jennifer Lopez. “But it would also have been nice if some of the songs were in English. That’s all. But it was still a good show.”
Bad Bunny performs during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl LX football game between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California on February 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
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Smith sparked a backlash toward Bad Bunny when he posted a screenshot of Trump’s Truth Social post where he criticized Bad Bunny’s performance as “one of the worst ever!”
“The Super Bowl halftime show is absolutely terrible, one of the worst of all time! It makes no sense, it’s an affront to America’s greatness, and it doesn’t represent our standards of success, creativity, or excellence. No one understands a word this guy says, and the dancing is disgusting, especially to little kids watching from all over America and around the world,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“This ‘Show’ is just a ‘slap in the face’ to our country, which is setting new standards and records every day, including the best stock market and 401(k) ever! There is nothing inspiring about this disaster of a halftime show and watching it, it will get rave reviews from the fake news media, because they have no idea what is happening in the REAL WORLD. And by the way, the NFL should immediately replace their ridiculous new kickoff rule. AMERICA BIG AGAIN!”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president would be watching Turning Point USA’s “All-American” halftime show.
Bad Bunny’s performance is speculated to be the most-watched halftime performance in history with over 135 million viewers, but an official figure has yet to be released.
Bad Bunny performs during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl LX football game between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, California. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
The show concluded with a message on the Levi’s Stadium video board that read, “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Bad Bunny hugged in the bowels of Levi’s Stadium after the performance.
