Washington Examiner Senior Writer Joe Concha criticized singer Bad Bunny for breaking his oath to avoid performing in the United States due to the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to become the 2026 Super Bowl halftime performer.
“Bad Bunny likes money. Because why else would he break his own rule that ‘I will never do a concert in the United States again as long as ICE is still in operation,’” Concha said on Fox Business’s Kudlow Monday.
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“He was mad that ICE was doing raids outside of one of his concerts in Puerto Rico, for example. One of those raids ended up finding a guy they were looking for, who was a person who beat women, convicted of rape, and convicted of homicide,” Concha said. “So why would you be against ICE when they’re getting the worst elements of this country out of this country?”
Concha cited a Pew Research study, which found that 97% of Americans support deporting illegal immigrants who have committed a crime.
Between January and mid-July, ICE arrested 150,000 illegal immigrants, 100,000 of whom either had pending criminal charges filed against them or were previously convicted of a crime, according to ICE. About 67% of illegal immigrants arrested had a criminal charge pending or were convicted.
Bad Bunny explained to i-D Magazine that he decided to avoid the U.S. during his tour out of fear of an ICE raid at his concerts.
“There were many reasons why I didn’t show up in the U.S., and none of them were out of hate — I’ve performed there many times,” Bad Bunny said. “But there was the issue of — like, f***ing ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
Concha argued that Bad Bunny’s negative opinion on ICE operations differs so starkly from that of many Americans that some could protest his performance.
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“Why would you bring in someone that is this decisive? When all they’re going to talk about before this halftime show is not, ‘What song is he going to perform?’ but, ‘How many people in this country are going to turn their TVs off in protest?’” Concha asked.
Bad Bunny was Spotify’s top artist for three consecutive years, beginning in 2020. Since 2023, he has consistently ranked among the platform’s top five artists for music streaming.