One week before he is set to headline the Super Bowl halftime show , Puerto Rican superstar and recording artist Bad Bunny drew a standing ovation from attendees at the Grammy Awards as he said “ICE out” during his acceptance speech for best música urbana album.
Emily Austin , a conservative influencer and sports broadcaster, remained seated as the crowd around her erupted in cheers.
In posts live from the Grammys and afterward, Austin registered her opposition to artists like singer Billie Eilish , who wore “ICE OUT” pins—a phrase that has been used in protest of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown . Austin said it was “irresponsible and divisive” for celebrities to use the awards show as a platform to rail against Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
She is part of an army of MAGA influencers pushing back against growing opposition among celebrities to Trump’s immigration policies, much of it focused on Bad Bunny, whose full name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio . Austin, who has 2.6 million followers on Instagram and more than 150,000 followers on X, said she is a fan of Bad Bunny but felt it was “unnecessary” for him to bring up politics at the Grammys.
Una mujer sostiene una vela frente a un monumento improvisado en memoria de Alex Pretti, un enfermero que fue baleado de muerte la semana pasada por un agente de la Patrulla Fronteriza de Estados Unidos, el sábado 31 de enero de 2026, en Minneapolis. El letrero dice: “Minnesota se opone al ICE”. (AP Foto/Ryan Murphy)
“America gave him such a great opportunity to really amplify his career on another level…Now he took that platform that he’s built here and has now completely turned into bashing this country,” Austin, host of “The Emily Austin Show,” said in an interview. “‘ICE out’ is not realistic, and it is reckless and dangerous.”
Bad Bunny has faced backlash from conservatives since being selected in September to headline the Super Bowl halftime show this Sunday. Some right-wing influencers zeroed in on his criticism of Trump’s immigration agenda, his exclusively Spanish-language lyrics and his gender-fluid fashion choices. They also cast him as a foreigner, despite him being from Puerto Rico, which is a U.S. territory and makes him a U.S. citizen since birth. President Trump has called the halftime-show choice “absolutely ridiculous.”
Shakira performs with Bad Bunny during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 54 football game Sunday, Feb. 2, 2020, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Since then, Trump’s handling of immigration has begun to sour with voters, with polls showing a majority of Americans feel ICE has gone too far . Bad Bunny’s latest salvo is reigniting the culture-war controversy over his selection, and immigration policy more broadly, just days before the country’s most-watched sports event.
Turning Point USA, the group founded by the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk , has said it would host counterprogramming to the Super Bowl halftime show. On Monday, the group announced the lineup will include artists such as Kid Rock , Lee Brice and Brantley Gilbert .
Bad Bunny is one of the most streamed artists in the world and won three Grammys on Sunday, including for album of the year for his latest album “ Debí Tirar Más Fotos ,” which is a tribute to his native Puerto Rico. He is the first Spanish-language artist to win the award.
In his acceptance speech for album of the year, he spoke mostly in Spanish as he dedicated his win to “all the people who had to leave their homeland, their country to follow their dreams.” In the earlier speech where he said “ICE out,” he also urged people to lean on love and move away from hate—a message that Austin called “very unifying” and “powerful.”
In a statement to The Wall Street Journal, the White House didn’t direct its criticism directly at Bad Bunny and instead questioned why “Hollywood elites” didn’t speak out when 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray was murdered by two undocumented immigrants.
“Federal law enforcement officers work heroically to protect American communities, and anyone pointing the finger at law enforcement instead of the actual criminals is simply doing the bidding of criminal illegal aliens,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said.
Last year, Bad Bunny wrapped up a sold-out 31-show concert residency in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which drew hundreds of thousands of fans and is estimated to have generated at least $196 million for the island. He is currently on a worldwide stadium tour that will include stops in Brazil, Australia and France.
Conservatives have also criticized Bad Bunny because he declined to tour in the U.S. mainland last year. In an interview with i-D magazine at the time, he said part of his reason for not touring in the mainland was out of concern his concerts would become a target for ICE raids.
Robby Starbuck , a conservative commentator and influencer with more than 865,000 followers on X, said he wouldn’t be watching the Super Bowl and slammed the National Football League for its focus on building a larger global fan base.
“To bring in a performer who is going to be the majority performing in Spanish, I think it’s sort of disrespectful to all the people who aren’t even going to understand what the hell is going on,” Starbuck said, adding he couldn’t think of a “more divisive pick” than Bad Bunny.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell backed Bad Bunny during the Super Bowl news conference on Monday, calling him “one of the great artists in the world.” Goodell said he believes Bad Bunny understands the halftime show is a platform “used to unite people” and will have a “great performance.”
Democrats and liberal influencers praised Bad Bunny’s showing at the Grammys. Sen. Tim Kaine (D., Va.) shared Bad Bunny’s acceptance speech for album of the year on X, congratulating him in Spanish and saying he was excited for his halftime performance.
“It has been a difficult year for our community. This award is a ray of light that we needed,” Sen. Ruben Gallego (D., Ariz.) wrote in Spanish on X of Bad Bunny’s win for album of the year. “Even though there are people who want to say otherwise, Latinos—with our music, our culture and our history—are part of this country. And no president can change that.”
During the show, Grammys host and comedian Trevor Noah joked to Bad Bunny: “If things keep getting worse in America, can I come live with you in Puerto Rico?” The Puerto Rican artist responded: “Trevor, I have some news for you. Puerto Rico is part of America.”
Despite her disagreement with his politics, Austin said she loves Bad Bunny’s music and “nobody can get my body to move the way” he can. But she is bracing for him to make another political statement in his performance on Sunday.
Write to Sabrina Rodriguez at sabrina.rodriguez@wsj.com
