Republicans Demand FCC Action After Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Sparks Backlash

Republican lawmakers are calling for federal intervention following Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX halftime performance, escalating a cultural clash over broadcast standards, language, and what critics describe as indecency aired during one of America’s most-watched television events.

Rep. Randy Fine, a Republican from Florida, led the charge on Monday, denouncing the halftime show as “disgusting” and “illegal,” while urging swift and “dramatic action” against the National Football League and its broadcast partners. The performance took place at Levi’s Stadium during Super Bowl LX.

Posting on X, Fine argued that profanity broadcast during the show violated federal regulations governing public airwaves. He maintained that similar language delivered in English would have triggered immediate penalties and potentially halted the broadcast altogether.

“You can’t say the f word on live TV,” Fine wrote, accusing the performance of containing pornographic material and stressing that the same rules should apply uniformly. His office, he said, is preparing a formal letter to the FCC seeking fines and a review of broadcast licenses involving the National Football League, NBC, and Bad Bunny himself.

Calls for accountability intensified as other Republicans joined the outcry. Rep. Andy Ogles demanded a congressional probe, issuing a blistering statement condemning the halftime show in explicit terms.

“The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show was pure smut, brazenly aired on national television for every American family to witness. Children were forced to endure explicit displays of gay sexual acts, women gyrating provocatively, and Bad Bunny shamelessly grabbing his crotch while dry-humping the air,” he said.

“And if that weren’t outrageous enough, the performance’s lyrics openly glorified sodomy and countless other unspeakable depravities. These flagrant, indecent acts are illegal to be displayed on public airways,” the representative said.

“That is why I am requesting that the Energy and Commerce Committee launch a formal congressional inquiry into the National Football League and NBC immediately for their prior knowledge, deliberate approval, and facilitation of this indecent broadcast. American culture will not be mocked or corrupted without consequence,” he said.

The backlash also highlighted frustrations over the performance being delivered predominantly in Spanish, a point that several conservatives argued undercut the unifying nature of the Super Bowl.

“To have a fully Spanish-language halftime show, with no subtitles, isn’t inclusive, it’s exclusive,” Rep. Maria Salazar wrote on X, adding that the event should have focused on celebrating Hispanic contributions to the United States rather than fueling cultural division.

Democrats, meanwhile, rushed to Bad Bunny’s defense. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez praised the artist in Spanish on X and later highlighted her shared surname with him in a post on BlueSky.

“Ocasio gang rise up,” she wrote alongside an image of Bad Bunny wearing an Ocasio 64 jersey.

The controversy spilled into cable news, where media commentator Megyn Kelly criticized the performance during an appearance with Piers Morgan, accusing the artist of turning the Super Bowl stage into a political statement.

Kelly argued that the Super Bowl should remain a culturally unifying, distinctly American event and questioned the decision to conduct most of the performance in Spanish. Morgan pushed back, noting that the United States has no official language and praising the show’s theatrical elements.

Kelly responded by insisting that the Super Bowl should be “quintessentially American” in every respect — including its halftime entertainment — a sentiment echoed by many conservatives who say the league continues to drift away from mainstream American values.