Bad Bunny is planning to wear a dress during his Feb. 8 Super Bowl halftime performance.
His style team says the outfit is intended as “a political thunderbolt disguised as couture.”
The anonymous sources, one of whom has reportedly worked closely with the Puerto Rican star, told Radar Online his wardrobe will honor generations of drag, resistance and cultural rebellion.
“He loves controversy. He lives to push envelopes,” a stylist said.
Another said that the Spanish-speaking rapper is not “playing it safe,” adding that the National Football League “has no idea what’s coming. Zero.”
Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, will make history as the first solo Spanish-language headliner.
As speculation about Bad Bunny’s performance on one of the world’s biggest stages continues to grow, critics have accused him of politicizing the event, going so far as to initiate a petition to replace him. Several have urged others to boycott the show altogether.
When he was announced as the halftime headliner in September, conservatives decried picking Bad Bunny, who was the most-streamed artist globally for 2025 on Spotify, the most popular music streaming service.
Another source told Radar Online, “Let them complain. The dress is already being sewn.”
Following the backlash, the artist poked fun at his critics during an appearance on “Saturday Night Live” in October.
“You might not know this, but I’m doing the Super Bowl halftime show. And I’m very happy, and I think everybody’s happy about it,” he said, adding, “even Fox News.”
This will be Bad Bunny’s first time headlining the halftime extravaganza after joining Jennifer Lopez and Shakira as a special guest during their Emmy-winning Super Bowl show in 2020.
Bad Bunny will not be the only one on the stage.
For the pregame opening ceremony, pop-punk band Green Day will perform. Charlie Puth will sing the national anthem, Brandi Carlile will sing “America the Beautiful,” and rising R&B star Coco Jones will perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
The NFL title game is set for Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Broadcast by NBC, it’s TV’s biggest night of the year and is expected to draw hundreds of millions of viewers.
• Mary McCue Bell can be reached at mbell@washingtontimes.com.
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