NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has rejected calls to pull his invitation for cross-dressing Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny to headline next year’s Super Bowl halftime show.
Indeed, Goodell claims that the offer to Grammy-winning rapper, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, was very carefully considered, and he stands by the decision.
“He’s one of the leading and most popular entertainers in the world. That’s what we try to achieve. It’s an important stage for us. It’s an important element to the entertainment value, and it’s carefully thought through,” Goodell said at the NFL’s fall meeting, according to The Wrap. “I’m not sure we’ve ever selected an artist where we didn’t have some blowback and criticism. It’s pretty hard to do.”
Goodell did seem to signal that the rapper’s starring role might be somewhat limited. “I am not saying that there won’t be additional talent that might be involved, but that’s always the way it works,” he said.
Since the NFL announced its choice of Bad Bunny, the rapper has spurred several controversies. Right after being announced, social media erupted as users began sharing photos of the rapper wearing women’s clothes. In one, he was seen in a pink skirt and wearing high heels.
The rapper was also blasted for remaining seated during the playing of “God Bless America” as he attended a Yankees game in New York.
He was also slammed for warning Americans that they have “four months to learn Spanish” to enjoy his Super Bowl performance.
It wasn’t long before a nationwide petition was started to demand that the NFL dump Bad Bunny and turn the halftime show over to country music legend George Strait, instead.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: Facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston, Truth Social @WarnerToddHuston, or at X/Twitter @WTHuston
Read the full article here