John Oliver has expressed his perspective regarding the uproar over Bad Bunny being chosen for next year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show. During a rundown of current events on Sunday evening’s episode of “Last Week Tonight,” Oliver joked: “The NFL has ‘controversially’ selected one of the most in-demand and successful artists around to perform at the Super Bowl Halftime Show.”
Last week’s declaration that the Puerto Rican star would headline football’s monumental event has triggered significant backlash from conservative circles, including remarks from President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager and Kristi Noem, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, who indicated that ICE agents would be present at the Super Bowl. In a podcast interview with Benny Johnson, Noem stated that ICE would be “all over that area” with plans to “enforce the law.”
Bad Bunny has not shied away from voicing his opinions regarding the Trump administration and its recent ICE operations, revealing he opted not to include the U.S. in his 2025-26 tour due to his fear that ICE “could be outside [my concert].” Remarkably, the Super Bowl Halftime Show will mark the sole U.S. performance on his forthcoming Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour.
After presenting a montage of conservative commentators reacting to the NFL’s choice of Bad Bunny — one even claiming he isn’t an American artist despite Puerto Rico being a U.S. territory — Oliver moved into a discussion of the ongoing ICE actions throughout the U.S.
“Once again, this week, we encountered absolutely disturbing footage of ICE raids taking place across the nation, with perhaps the most shocking occurring in Chicago, where federal agents handcuffed a local council member, threw a tear gas canister onto a crowded street near a school, and conducted a raid on an entire apartment building, leaving everything in disarray,” Oliver remarked.
“While the situation has been disheartening,” he added, “the notable source of encouragement has been the fierce opposition from local communities across the country. There have been large-scale protests against ICE — with some incredibly humorous moments, like a person dressed as a giant frog dancing outside an ICE detention facility in Portland and a Chicago protest featuring a memorable sign that read, ‘I slept with two of you on Grindr… (pretty sure).’”
Oliver concluded that the Trump administration and ICE cannot “hide the ugliness of their actions right now, and it must be challenged and revealed at every possible moment.”
He emphasized, “Unless we do so, much like two ICE agents somewhere in the vicinity of Chicago, I’m pretty sure we are in deep trouble.”
