NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has quashed speculation that Bad Bunny could be dropped as next year’s Super Bowl halftime performer, despite an online petition calling for the Latin superstar to be replaced by country artist George Strait.
Appearing before The Associated Press and other outlets at a news conference Wednesday, Goodell acknowledged the pushback the choice of Bad Bunny has received, but nonetheless said the NFL was “confident it’s going to be a great show.”
“It’s carefully thought through,” he said. “I’m not sure we’ve ever selected an artist where we didn’t have some blowback or criticism. It’s pretty hard to do when you have literally hundreds of millions of people that are watching.”
He went on to note: “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.”
Goodell also suggested Bad Bunny, who has been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigrants, would steer clear of overt political statements while at the Super Bowl.
