GRIF MAG

"Happy Super Bowl Sunday," the Alabama senator and formerAuburn footballcoach said in a Feb. 9, 2025, post on X. "Honored to be a part of@POTUS's team headed to Super Bowl LIX."

But he won't even entertain attending the decade-in-the-makinggridiron rematch betweenthe Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots on Feb. 9.

That isn't because of any poignant rivalry with a team, player, or another coach. Instead, Tuberville's love for the sport that fueled his political career has been eclipsed by a partisan divide over the NFL choosingBad Bunnyas the headliner for its Super Bowl 60 halftime performance.

Bad Bunny accepts the album of the year award for "DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS" onstage during the 68th Grammy Awards on Feb. 1, 2026, in Los Angeles

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Bad Bunny poses with the album of the year, best música urbana album and best global music performance awards during the 68th Grammy Awards.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny performs onstage during the first show of his 30-date (which ended up being 31 in total) concert residency at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on July 11, 2025.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Bad Bunny thanked his fans for "letting me sing in my home in front of my friends, my family and my people" on what was the final night of his residency in September 2025. "Thank you for that," he said. "I love you, thank you for being a part of this."

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> On top of his Puerto Rico residency, Bad Bunny was also juggling life as a Hollywood actor attending the premiere of "Caught Stealing" on Aug. 26, 2025, in New York City.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Bad Bunny starred alongside Austin Butler in the movie.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Earlier in summer 2025, Bad Bunny was spotted at Netflix's "Happy Gilmore 2" premiere on July 21, 2025, in New York City, which he starred alongside Adam Sandler.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Bad Bunny at the 2025 Met Gala Celebrating "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 5, 2025. Bad Bunny gave a playful Puerto Rican twist to the Black dandy theme with a crisp espresso brown suit. He paired the custom-made Prada ensemble with a brimmed hat resembling a pava, a traditional straw hat made from leaves of the Puerto Rican hat palm.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Bad Bunny onstage at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 17, 2025.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Bad Bunny onstage at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 17, 2025.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Bad Bunny onstage at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 17, 2025.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> In February 2025, Bad Bunny attended "SNL50: The Anniversary Special" in New York City.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Bad Bunny performs during his Most Wanted Tour at the Kaseya Center in Miami on May 24, 2024.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Bad Bunny attends the Dior Homme Menswear spring/summer 2025 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on June 21, 2024.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Bad Bunny performs at the Crypto.com Arena during his Most Wanted tour in Los Angeles, March 13, 2024.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />  Cardi B, Chencho Corleone, Ivy Queen and reggaeton duo Jowell y Randy." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> declaring Oct. 1 as the official Bad Bunny Day. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> two new wax figures at Orlando and New York's Madame Tussauds on April 19, 2022. The figure at Madame Tussauds New York is wearing the iconic all-silver look from the Grammy-winner's 2020 Super Bowl performance alongside Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, and J Balvin, complete with the same silver jacket he wore. The wax figure in Orlando is wearing an outfit originally from his WWE Royal Rumble performance and is featured in his "Booker T" music video. For the figure, Bad Bunny donated his trenchcoat, vest, trousers, and pants. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Bad Bunny is set to portray the title role in "El Muerto," making history as Marvel's first Latino lead in a live-action film. He calls the film the "perfect role" for him.

Before suiting up as the super-powered wrestler, the Puerto Rican rapper will make his big-screen acting debut in the neon-drenched "Bullet Train" (in theaters July 29), doing battle with Brad Pitt. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> April 2021 at WWE's WrestleMania 37. In this photo, taken Jan. 29, 2022, Bad Bunny jumped into the ring again during the Royal Rumble match at The Dome at America's Center. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 22nd Latin Grammy Awards. That night he took home the award for best rap/hip hop song for "Booker T" and best urban music album for "El Último Tour del Mundo." " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

Bad Bunny makes history at the Grammys. The Puerto Rican star's career in photos.

Bad Bunny accepts the album of the year award for "DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS" onstage during the 68th Grammy Awards on Feb. 1, 2026, in Los Angeles

"Bad Bunny sucks," the Alabama Republican, who isrunning for governorthis year, told USA TODAY. "The NFL has gone woke ever since (NFL commissioner Roger) Goodell took over in 2006. I'm not watching the Super Bowl this year."

Some conservative leaders and activists have expressed opposition to the popular Puerto Rican musician, who could perform his entire set in Spanish, including House SpeakerMike Johnson, of Louisiana, whovoiced disapprovallast October, and conservative pundit Tomi Lahren, who wrongly stated that he is "not an American artist."

The White House said Trump will watch the game, but plans to change the channel during the halftime show and support an alternative program featuring country, rap-rock, and heavy metal singer Kid Rock and othersorganized by conservative activists.

"I think the president would much prefer a Kid Rock performance over Bad Bunny, I must say that," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters during a Feb. 5 briefing.

Controversies and boycotts have blitzed the league before. But this time, the Make America Great Again movement is looking to sack the musical performance, given their side's voluble objections to Bad Bunny.

Those who oppose his selection argue it is alienating conservative-leaning fans because he's known forbreaking gender norms through fashionand sharp criticism of Trump's aggressiveanti-immigration campaign.

'All-American Halftime Show':Turning Point USA unveils alternative Super Bowl halftime show lineup

Will even sports become politically polarized?

The Super Bowl is by farAmerica's most-watched TV event, drawing hundreds of millions of eyeballs each year. The halftime show, even the commercials, offer major cultural touchstones.

No other professional sports league comes close to the NFL in terms of popularity, and it carries the same level of support among Democrats and Republicans.

A 2023survey by Ipsosfound that football reigns supreme among U.S. sports fans. Just under half of all Americans describe themselves as NFL fans, with 44% of Democrats and 45% of Republicans saying the same, the poll found.

Sports are a rare remaining "opportunity to share moments and memories together during a time when Americans are increasingly sorted into political bubbles," Ipsos, a market research company, wrote in a summary of its findings.

But MAGA figures, including Trump, have been throwing a flag at Goodell, along with rapper Jay-Z, who in 2019 was named the NFL's entertainment strategist, for hosting artists they argue are politically charged against their beliefs, such as rapperKendrick Lamar in 2025and singerBeyonce in 2016.

MAGA's beef with Bad Bunny explained

Born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, the Puerto Rican native has roughly 35 million followers on TikTok and 50 million on Instagram. Sports observers say his selection is part of the NFL's larger businessgoal to go global.

But the reggaeton rapper, who delves into other musical genres with African and Latin American roots such asplena,jibaro, andbomba, has also been one of the morepolitically outspoken artistsof the era. He has repeatedly expressed disapproval over the Trump administration's immigration enforcement policies, for instance, most recently at the 68th annual Grammy Awards.

"Before I say thanks to God, I'm going to say, ICE out,"he told the crowdin Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena.

Conservatives are bracing for what is expected to be an audacious halftime performance, led by hits such as "DTMF" or "Me Porto Bonito," possibly accompanied by an overt or subtle dig at Trump or his policies.

In 2016, whenBeyoncestrutted onto the field at halftime during Super Bowl 50, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a close Trump confidant, criticized it as an"attack" on law enforcementfor alluding to Malcolm X and the Black Panther Party.

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Super Bowl 60:Who could Bad Bunny bring out at his halftime show?

H. Samy Alim, a professor of anthropology and faculty director of the UCLA Hip Hop Initiative, said objections to the upcoming performance, specifically over language and identity, are more pronounced because Bad Bunny is encouraging other Americans to "expand their boundaries" in ways that often make many feel uncomfortable.

"Bad Bunny represents that kind of linguistic threat," Alim said. "He's a person of color, and he also is someone who plays with gender and sexuality in ways that are very accepting of the queer community. In other words, he's seen as someone who is a connector to many of the communities that they have already constructed as threats to the United States."

That he's also made it a point to skip all U.S. locations for his world tour this year due to fears over ICE coming to those concerts;kissed a male backup danceronstage;dressed in dragfor his "Yo Perreo Sola" music video in 2021; and wore a skirt on a"Tonight Show" appearancein 2022.

Jeff Crouere, a conservative political commentator, said the Super Bowl is an event that brings most of the country together. By picking Bad Bunny androck band Green Day, which also has a more liberal tilt, he said the NFL is sending a message to fans who support the president or who have more traditional values.

"It just is insufferable to a lot of us that they continue this trend," Crouere said. "And I see that in Hollywood, too. It goes on all the time with these actors, and they make everything political, and it just turns people off."

That has fueled a noticeable backlash, starting with more than 100 petitions launched on Change.org opposing Bad Bunny performing. Among them, the most popular was one calling for Bad Bunny to be replaced byGeorge Strait, known as the "King of Country Music," with roughly 120,000 signatures.

While the website has seen halftime-related petitions before, Kajal Odedra, a Change.org spokeswoman, told USA TODAY that "the scale and cultural breadth of this one are notable" and ranks among its highest responses.

Donald Trump's second term: Actions, travels of the 47th president

Liberals say it's conservatives who are politicizing entertainment

Asked about the NFL's selection last October, about 48% of Americans gave it a thumbs up, aQuinnipiac University survey found, versus 29% who disapproved and another 24% who didn't have an opinion.

There's an obvious partisan gap, the poll showed, with roughly three-quarters of Democrats approving of the decision and almost two-thirds of Republicans disapproving.

Bad Bunny's defenders say his performance will showcase America's diversity and a star beloved by a burgeoning younger audience. They point out that he is from Puerto Rico, which is part of the United States, and that he's become a global star by embracing his heritage.

"Like millions of Latinos, he is bilingual, and he's also supremely talented," Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of America's Voice, a liberal-leaning immigration reform group. "And like many immigrants, who are contributing to culture and music, he's an innovator."

"The performance is only being viewed as controversial because we have a president in the White House intent on dividing Americans," she added. "They have made it OK for people to racially profile people of color, and they have made it okay to express really anti-immigrant views."

Polling shows a split along racial lines, too, with 61% of Black adults and 65% of Hispanic adults approving of the choice compared to just 41% of White adults. But the decision is by far supported by younger Americans age 18 to 34, who 64% said they liked the choice, versus an evenly divided response among those age 65 or older.

David vs. Goliath: Conservatives bet on halftime alternative

Conservative activists are now organizing aseparate halftime showfeaturing Trump-friendly performers.

Turning Point USA, the group founded by late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, unveiled alineup for its "All-American Halftime Show"this week, featuring performances byKid Rock,Brantley Gilbert, andLee Brice.

The organizers are approaching the show "like David and Goliath," Kid Rock, a close Trump ally, said in a Feb. 2 news release. He noted that they are competing with the most powerful sports league and a global pop superstar, saying while the Super Bowl headliner will be "wearing a dress, and singing in Spanish," their show will be playing "great songs for folks who love America."

Allies and opponents have telegraphed that they will be watching to see how well the Turning Point USA event does in terms of viewers.

"If they get a significant audience, and I don't know what that number would be, maybe it'll be a wake-up call to the NFL that they should go in a different direction with their entertainment and try to do something that is not as divisive," Crouere told USA TODAY.

While Trump's allies are leaning into the fight on the culture war front, the administration appears to be standing down as the backlash over federal officersfatally shooting two U.S. citizensin Minnesota boils over into confrontational protests and on Capitol Hill.

The league's leadership announced at a Feb. 3 news conference that there will beno ICE or federal immigration enforcement operationsat the game months after Trump allies, such as former campaign managerCorey Lewandowski, hinted at apossible deploymentduring an October 2025 interview on conservative commentator Benny Johnson's podcast.

Contributing: Bart Jansen, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Bad Bunny performance set to rattle Super Bowl 60 amid ICE backlash

Islamabad police said the blast at the sprawling mosque was an attack and that an investigation was underway.

Television footage and social media images showed police and residents transporting the injured to nearby hospitals. Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack, and asked authorities to ensure the provision of best medical care to the wounded persons, who were arriving at the city's different hospitals.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion, but suspicion is likely to fall on militants such as the Pakistani Taliban or the Islamic State group, which has been blamed forprevious attacks on Shiite worshippers, a minority in the country. Militants often target security forces and civilians across Pakistan.

In November, asuicide bomber had struck outside a court in Islamabad,killing 12 people.

The latest attack comes nearly a week after the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army carried out multiple attacks in insurgency-hit southwestern Balochistan province, killing about 50 people.

Security forces responding to those attacks also killed more than 200 "terrorists," according to the military.