Green Day opening Super Bowl LX amid Bad Bunny halftime show controversy
- - Green Day opening Super Bowl LX amid Bad Bunny halftime show controversy
Ryan ColemanJanuary 19, 2026 at 3:18 AM
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Gus Stewart/Redferns
Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day performing in London in 2024
The NFL doesn't want to be an American idiot.
The National Football League, which organizes the Super Bowl every year, added another prime attraction to February's Super Bowl LX lineup: Green Day, who will kick off the big game's opening ceremony in Santa Clara, Calif., just an hour's drive from the band's hometown of Rodeo, Calif.
"We are super hyped to open Super Bowl 60 right in our backyard!" frontman Billie Joe Armstrong said in the announcement shared by the NFL on Sunday. "We are honored to welcome the MVPs who've shaped the game and open the night for fans all over the world. Let's have fun! Let's get loud!"
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The announcement comes amid the ongoing controversy over the NFL's selection of Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny to headline the halftime show.
Former racecar driver Danica Patrick summed up the conservative backlash to the Bad Bunny pick in the days after it was announced, when she wrote on social media, "No songs in English should not be allowed at one of America’s highest-rated television events of the year."
Hailing from Bayamón, Puerto Rico, Bad Bunny (born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio) sings primarily in Spanish, in an innovative style that fuses Latin trap, reggaeton, hip-hop, and salsa. The 31-year-old musician has already topped Spotify's most-streamed artist in the world list in four different years, but has also been criticized for his own complaints about U.S. foreign policy, especially under the current Trump administration.
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The musician, who has 49.8 million Instagram followers, released a Super Bowl halftime show teaser trailer on Friday.
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He revealed in a September interview that he chose not to bring his current Debi Tirar Mas Fotos World Tour to the United States out of fear of being targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
"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," he said.
He has also poked fun at Trump in the past, as when the video for his new song "NUEVAYoL" featured a cartoonish voiceover meant to parrot Trump, and featured an image of the Puerto Rican flag hanging off the side of the Statue of Liberty.
In response, Homeland Security advisor Corey Lewandowski threatened to send ICE to the Super Bowl, stating, "There is nowhere you can provide safe haven to people who are in this country illegally. "
Alfredo ESTRELLA / AFP via Getty
Bad Bunny performing in Mexico City in 2025
Green Day's opening performance at Levi's Stadium will "celebrate six decades of the championship's history, with the band helping usher generations of Super Bowl MVPs onto the field," the NFL noted in Sunday's announcement.
The band is the latest addition to the bill, which also includes Charlie Puth, Brandi Carlile, and Coco Jones as pregame performers.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
