Charles Barkley laments ‘right-wing nut jobs’ criticizing Bad Bunny

If you have a problem with Bad Bunny headlining the Super Bowl halftime show, then Charles Barkley has a problem with you.

The NFL has drawn the ire of many conservatives and right-wing media since naming Bad Bunny as its Super Bowl LX halftime performer. And with Super Bowl LX quickly approaching, the right-wing criticism of Bad Bunny, who sings primarily in Spanish, supports immigrants and has spoken out against ICE, has not let up. To counter Bad Bunny, Turning Point USA has created what is being promoted as the more conservative-friendly “All-American Halftime Show” headlined by Kid Rock.

During this week’s episode of The Steam Room podcast with co-host Ernie Johnson, Barkley took a few minutes to put Bad Bunny’s critics on blast.

“There are a lot of ignorant people talking about Bad Bunny. First of all, I admire Bad Bunny,” Barkley said. “He’s performing at the Super Bowl and I hear all these right-wing nut jobs talking about, ‘He’s not American. First of all, he’s from Puerto Rico, fools. That’s part of the United States of America you freakin’ idiots.”

A lot of the backlash from right-wingers around Bad Bunny also stems from the decision to exclude the United States from his recent world tour. The Puerto Rican artist chose not to schedule any shows in the United States amid fear of ICE showing up to arrest fans at his shows.

“I admire this dude,” Barkley said of Bad Bunny not performing in the United States. “He didn’t say anything bad about the United States. What he said was, ‘For the time being, I’m not going to perform in the United States because I don’t want my fans coming to see my in concert, making a lot of money and go outside and get arrested by ICE.’ If you don’t think that’s honorable, there’s something wrong with you. He didn’t say anything bad about the United States.”

“Shout out to Bad Bunny,” Barkley continued. “I’m not great at Spanish, I’m not gonna fake that, but I hope you have a great Super Bowl performance and I’m gonna enjoy it.”

Despite the criticism of Bad Bunny from right-wingers and their attempt at creating a competing halftime show, the NFL has stood by the Puerto Rican artist. Bad Bunny is one of the most popular musicians in the world, he’s fresh off winning Album of the Year at the Grammys, he was the most-streamed artist on Spotify in 2025, and he’s an ideal performer to help the NFL continue its goal of global expansion.