Bad Bunny's Message to the Super Bowl Audience: "You Don't Have to Learn Spanish"

As anticipation reaches a fever pitch ahead of Super Bowl LX, Bad Bunny is reframing the conversation around his headline Halftime Show, telling fans they "don't have to learn Spanish" to enjoy the performance, though he'd rather they learn to dance. Coming off major wins at the 2026 Grammy Awards, the Puerto Rican superstar used a pre‑Super Bowl press conference in San Francisco to give a warm but pointed preview of what viewers can expect on Sunday, February 8, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

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Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, has been at the center of widespread cultural conversation since his selection as the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show headliner, the first Latino and Spanish‑speaking artist to do so as a solo act. The decision has been celebrated as historic by millions of fans and cultural commentators, but it's also ignited backlash from critics who argue his Spanish‑dominant catalog won't resonate with the broader Super Bowl audience.

At the press conference, Bad Bunny leaned into celebration over controversy. Asked what he wants the nation to take away from his halftime set, he said the focus should be on joy and culture rather than language barriers, emphasizing that everyone should feel welcome at his show. "It's going to be a huge party," he said, noting that while he will bring "a lot of my culture" to the stage, he didn't want to spoil the details. He passionately reframed fan expectations, telling attendees:

"People only have to worry about... I know that I told them that they had four months to learn Spanish. They don't even have to learn Spanish. It's better if they learn to dance. There's no better dance than the one that comes from the heart, the heartbeat dance, that's the only thing they need to worry about and enjoy."

Bad Bunny says you don’t need to learn Spanish to enjoy his #SuperBowlLX #AppleMusicHalftime show — just be ready to dance! 🕺💃🎶🎉 pic.twitter.com/nsjYOvn6f1

— ExtraTV (@extratv) February 5, 2026

The "four months to learn Spanish" line has become one of the defining memes of the Super Bowl promotional cycle. It originated not at the press conference but during Bad Bunny's October appearance on Saturday Night Live, where he seized on criticism of his performance's linguistic makeup. Facing conservative commentators who suggested the Super Bowl audience wouldn't embrace primarily Spanish lyrics, he delivered an opening monologue, part in English, part in Spanish, ending with a playful challenge: "If you didn't understand what I just said, you have four months to learn." That moment drew widespread media coverage and became shorthand for cultural pushback against his critics.

Criticism has not been limited to language alone. Some conservative commentators and political figures have framed his selection as a political statement, pointing to Bad Bunny's past comments about immigration enforcement and U.S. policies. His outspoken 2026 Grammy acceptance speech, where he addressed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions and called for compassion, only amplified the cultural divide. Former President Donald Trump and others publicly denounced his halftime role, with some even organizing alternative events as political statements.

Despite that noise, Bad Bunny has continued to emphasize inclusivity and cultural pride. At the press conference, he also spoke emotionally about what this performance means to him personally, crediting his family, especially his mother, for support throughout his career. He described the halftime show not just as a performance, but as a celebration of roots, community and joy.

The Super Bowl LX Half‑time Show, produced by Jesse Collins and Roc Nation and directed by Hamish Hamilton, will be broadcast live on NBC, Telemundo, Peacock and NFL+, bringing Bad Bunny's vibrant musical universe to one of the world's largest live television audiences. His inclusion spotlights Latin culture on an iconic stage long dominated by English‑language acts, and it reflects a broader shift in American entertainment where linguistic diversity is increasingly embraced.

Bad Bunny got emotional discussing his mother ahead of his Super Bowl halftime performance: "She believed in me as a person. As a human."📹: Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show pic.twitter.com/A3QHSWMoiC

— CONSEQUENCE (@consequence) February 5, 2026

Amid all the chatter about whether English should be part of his set, Bad Bunny's core message remains rooted in celebration, not confrontation. At today's interview, he made one thing clear: the show will "reflect my culture" and invite everyone to move with it, regardless of what language they speak. Dance, he quipped, transcends translation, and that's something every Super Bowl fan can understand.

With just days to go, his message of joy over division could be the lasting legacy of this year's Super Bowl performance an invitation to the world to enjoy rhythm over rhetoric, heartbeat dance over hesitation.

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