Stephen A. Smith has entered the chat about Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX halftime show.
Smith, 58, revealed that he thought Bad Bunny’s show was “fly” but also found common ground with President Donald Trump’s assessment of the 13-minute performance that was almost entirely in Spanish.
“[Trump] does have a point when he alludes to the ‘mess of a halftime show, will get great reviews from the fake news media.’ You’re gonna have people that are gonna be raving about the halftime show simply because they want to be anti-Trump and anti-right and all of this other stuff,” the ESPN personality said on the Tuesday, February 10, episode of “The Stephen A. Smith Show.”
Smith added, “That ain’t me, I don’t give a damn. I’m fair-minded, down the middle.” He said all in all, it was a “damn good show.”
As Us Weekly previously reported, Trump, 79, took to Truth Social on Sunday, February 8, to eviscerate the performance as “absolutely terrible,” calling it “one of the worst, EVER!”
Trump posted that “nobody understands a word this guy is saying,” claiming the dance moves were “disgusting, especially for young children that are watching” from all over the United States and the world.
While taking the field at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, Bad Bunny, 31, performed a medley of his biggest hits including “Tití Me Preguntó,” “Safaera,” “Monaco” and “El Apagón.” His star-studded lineup featured appearances from Cardi B, Karol G, Jessica Alba and Pedro Pascal, who notably hit the stage when he did a live rendition of “Yo Perreo Sola.” In addition to his superstar cameos, Bad Bunny was also joined by guest performers Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin.
Prior to the big game, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump would not be tuning into Bad Bunny’s performance and would instead be watching Turning Point USA’s “All-American” halftime show.
Although Smith said Bad Bunny’s halftime set was entertaining, the sports analyst admitted that he did have one particular issue with the performance.
“Here’s my only reticence, you’re in the United States of America and you perform damn-near an entire performance in Spanish,” Smith said. “But if you didn’t understand Spanish, you were lost.”
He continued, “And if most people don’t understand the lyrics because you’re speaking in what they deem to be a foreign language, that is a legitimate point the president made.”
Smith pointed out that although Bad Bunny faced his fair share of critics, there were many in support.
“Now, tens of millions of people also loved it. They also enjoyed themselves,” Smith said. “And a lot of times, if we’re keeping it a buck, we don’t need to know the lyrics. All we care about is the beat.”
Bad Bunny’s halftime show may have been controversial, but it also made history by smashing the record for being the most watched of all-time with 135.4 million views.
NYC Water shared a wild statistic via X, noting that New York City experienced a “significant reduction in water usage” for 15 minutes during the show. Once the halftime performance wrapped, 761,719 toilets were flushed across the city, indicating that viewers waited until Bad Bunny’s set was over before taking a bathroom break.
Read the full article here
