Support for rapper Bad Bunny as the headliner of the Super Bowl LX halftime show is clearly partisan, a new Quinnipiac University poll showed Monday, with overwhelming support from Democrats and strong disapproval from Republicans.
Key data
About half of Americans approve of the NFL’s decision to have Bad Bunny, a Puerto Rican artist, perform at the Super Bowl halftime show this season, the poll shows. However, support is clearly divided by political party, race and age.
Democrats overwhelmingly approve of the decision (74%), while Republicans disapprove (63%).
More black and Hispanic adults approve of the decision (61% and 65%, respectively) than white adults, of whom only 41% agree.
Older people are also more skeptical of the decision: only 36% of adults aged 65 and older approve, compared to 64% of people aged 18 to 34.
Also read: NFL Commissioner Goodell defends the choice of Bad Bunny for the Super Bowl show: ‘It was carefully thought out’
Key context
Bad Bunny, who held the record for most streamed artist on Spotify for three consecutive years and whose album “Un Verano Sin Ti” was the first Spanish-language album nominated for album of the year at the Grammys, was announced in late September as the artist who would perform at the Super Bowl halftime show.
Conservative leaders and supporters have since spoken out against the decision, while Democrats widely praised it, a political divide reflected in the Quinnipiac poll.
President Donald Trump called the decision “absolutely ridiculous,” and a Trump administration official confirmed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents would be present at the game to detain “people who are in this country illegally.”
Bad Bunny had previously said his latest world tour would not include stops in the continental United States for fear of ICE agents raiding concert venues.
The official press office of California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, harshly criticized the conservative reaction to the Bad Bunny news on “We are honored to have him on the most important stage in the world.”
This article was originally published in Forbes US
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