Bad Bunny’s controversial Super Bowl halftime act has been scrutinized by the Federal Communications Commission for potential violations of its rules that prohibit “indecent material” and offensive language on public airwaves, On The Money has learned.
The FCC’s initial take is that the act and the songs that the Puerto Rican rapper belted out during the half-time show — “Tití Me Preguntó,”Monaco,” and “Safaera” — were scrubbed of lyrics that normally include references to sex acts and genitalia.
If they hadn’t been censored, the smutty lyrics could have violated FCC rules banning profanity and obscenity during prime time hours, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The agency is said to have shelved any additional scrutiny barring further evidence, this person added.
Both an NFL spokesman and a rep for Bad Bunny didn’t return requests for comment. A FCC rep had no immediate comment.
Bad Bunny is the stage name for Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, a 31-year-old pop star known for several things: His sartorial flair (sometimes wearing a dress on stage), singing in Spanish and his risqué lyrics. Indeed, he is also known to channel progressive politics in his performances.
That style has made him popular with millions of fans, but not necessarily with the average NFL fan, who is decidedly right-of-center.
At this year’s Grammys, Bad Bunny took a dig at President Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda. His halftime show took up that theme again with depictions of Latin American life with the backdrop of sugar cane fields and various Latin American flags.
The NFL has been trying to expand into the Latin American market, which may explain some of this. That said, abrupt changes in marketing carry risks, as evidenced by backlash against Bud Light after it featured a trans activist in one of its commercials back in 2023.
Bad Bunny sparked a similar reaction. While progressives have celebrated, conservatives and many football fans panned his implied attacks on President Trump, and what they alleged were crude dance numbers that led to calls for an FCC obscenity investigation.
FCC rules prohibit what can be broadly defined as obscene material on free TV (as opposed to cable), particularly during so-called prime time, or between the hours of 7 pm and 11 pm, depending on your time zone.
“Language or material that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium, sexual or excretory organs or activities … may be subject to enforcement action by the FCC,” the agency warns on its website.
Bad Bunny performed between approximately 8pm and 8:30 pm, the sweet spot of prime time with an ensemble dance act that featured twerking and otherwise dirty dancing to sometimes even dirtier ditties.
After the show, GOP Florida congressman Randy Fine wrote FCC chairman Brendan Carr stating that “The woke garbage we witnessed on Super Bowl Sunday needs to be INVESTIGATED and put to an END.” Fine added: “There is NO reason that over 130 million people — including CHILDREN — should have been exposed to the vulgar and disgusting content of the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show.”
One problem with any possible FCC inquiry is that Bad Bunny sang in Spanish. So presumably when the FCC managed to get a translation of what was actually said, the evidence of rule violations seemed thin at best. The aberrant language was either changed or bleeped out, said the person familiar with the FCC scrutiny.
While the inquiry into Bad Bunny’s allegedly bad behavior has stalled, another consequence lingers – namely, how many people tuned in and were turned off.
The halftime show was touted by NBC, which aired the big game, and the NFL, for setting record overall ratings. Yet many analysts have questioned those metrics, and how Bad Bunny’s himself actually rated.
According to Nielsen Data reviewed by On The Money, the Super Bowl drew its highest numbers Sunday night of 137, 826 viewers during the 15 minutes which spanned the second quarter of the game. After that and during the time slots of the halftime show that included Bad Bunny’s performance, the broadcast began losing viewership, declines of 1%, 6% and 5% until around the time the third quarter play began and the ratings jumped to a positive 7%.
“Based on my understanding of the data, Bad Bunny lost more % of the Super Bowl viewership from the end of the second quarter than has ever happened before,” tweeted Ryan Glasspeigel, a reporter for Front Office Sports on Wednesday.
“The NFL has an interesting dilemma in trying to court new fans vs alienating the base.”
