NEED TO KNOW
Jennifer Lopez is standing up for Bad Bunny!
The singer and actress, 56, appeared on the TODAY show on Monday, Oct. 6 to discuss her new movie, Kiss of the Spider Woman. During her appearance, she also spoke about the backlash Bad Bunny has received after being announced as the headliner of the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show.
Host Craig Melvin asked Lopez about the Puerto Rican rapper’s upcoming performance and noted that they performed together nearly six years ago.
“We did!” Lopez said, in reference to her star-studded 2020 Super Bowl performance. “Me, Shakira, J Balvin, and we had an amazing time. It was a really cultural moment.”
Christopher Polk/Getty
“I think he’s about to blow everybody’s mind. It’s an introduction to some people,” she added of Bad Bunny.
“What do you make of the controversy?” Melvin asked the “Can’t Get Enough” singer to her surprise. “Is there controversy?” she replied. “I swear I don’t know.”
“There are a lot of folks who have not been wild about the idea,” Melvin explained.
When Lopez asked him to elaborate, he vaguely said, “You’d have to ask them. He’s wildly popular, but for a lot of folks, they have said, it should be someone else.”
Todd Owyoung/Peacock/Getty
“But why? I don’t understand that. He’s one of the top artists in the world right now, probably the top,” the Unstoppable star said.
“It could be a lot of different people. That’s the thing. I’m super excited for people to see him,” she continued. “I think they’ll be pleasantly surprised because his music transcends language. It’s amazing what he’s done. He’s done something that a lot of people have never done in their life.”
“I’m so excited for him. I was excited when he performed with us at the Super Bowl and I’m excited to see what he does. He puts on a great show. He’s an amazing entertainer,” Lopez concluded.
Shortly after Bad Bunny was announced as the 2026 Super Bowl halftime headliner, Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will be present at the sporting event and the anticipated performance.
On the Oct. 1 episode of The Benny Show podcast, Lewandowski was asked by host Benny Johnson if “ICE will have enforcement at the Super Bowl for the Bad Bunny halftime show.”
“There is nowhere you can provide safe haven to people who are in this country illegally,” Lewandowski said. “Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else. We will find you and apprehend you and put you in a detention facility and deport you.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem echoed the sentiment days later in an interview with Johnson, saying, “We’ll be all over that place. We are going to enforce the law. So I think people should not be coming to the Super Bowl unless they’re law-abiding Americans who love this country.”
Bad Bunny responded to critics while hosting Saturday Night Live on Oct. 4, saying in his opening monologue, “I’m very happy, and I think everyone is happy about it — even Fox News.”
“But really, I’m very excited to be doing the Super Bowl, and I know that people all around the world who love my music are also happy,” Bad Bunny continued, then adding in Spanish, “Especially all of the Latinos and Latinas in the world here in the United States who have worked to open doors. It’s more than a win for myself, it’s a win for all of us. Our footprints and our contribution in this country, no one will ever be able to take that away or erase it.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Bad Bunny was announced as the Super Bowl headliner during the game between the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Sept. 28. The artist spoke about his new gig in an X post that day, writing, “I’ve been thinking about it these days, and after discussing it with my team, I think I’ll do just one date in the United States.”
The statement was a reference to his decision to skip touring the country for his Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour, due to President Donald Trump’s use of ICE for immigration crackdown.
After the announcement, Lopez shared a picture of herself and Bad Bunny on X with the caption, “Now it’s your turn !!!!! bori gang lets gooooo @sanbenito.”
