Bad Bunny Didn’t Stand for God Bless America at the Yankees Game — Here’s Why He Didn’t Have To

Bad Bunny went to a Yankees playoff game and, somehow, we got another full-blown culture fight out of it. The short version: a stadium stood, he didn’t, and the internet did what it does.

What happened at Yankee Stadium

During Tuesday night’s playoff game in the Bronx, the stadium played God Bless America. Most of the crowd got to their feet and sang along. Bad Bunny stayed seated. TMZ posted video of him hanging with friends while the section around him stood and belted the line, well, encouraging people to stand and guide her.

For context: Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, is from Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory. Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens and have many of the same rights, but there are big asterisks if you live on the island (no presidential vote from Puerto Rico, no voting members in Congress, etc.). He’s been vocal for years about Puerto Rico’s political relationship with the mainland.

Predictably, the clip set off a pile-on accusing him of disrespect. Also predictably, others jumped in to note that God Bless America is not the national anthem, so there’s no rule saying you have to stand for it. One more wrinkle: the song’s own history has had its flashpoints — some far-right white supremacist groups have protested it in the past because it was written by a Jewish immigrant. So, yeah, layers.

How this ties back to his Super Bowl halftime gig

All of this lands on top of a months-long argument over Bad Bunny headlining the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show. He’s the first Latin male artist to lead the thing, though he’s done a halftime cameo before with Jennifer Lopez and Shakira. The booking has been a magnet for hot takes, and this latest clip is being folded right into that discourse.

• Critics complained the NFL picked a star with no English-language hits and accused the league of sidelining its English-speaking base to chase Latin American audiences.
• Conservative pundits resurfaced his politics, calling him anti-Trump and anti-ICE. One viral post framed his past touring choices as proof, pointing to his decision not to bring a world tour to the U.S. at the time.
• Bad Bunny told i-D Magazine there were multiple reasons he skipped those dates, and none were about hating the U.S.; he said he was worried about ICE targeting fans at venues.
• After he got the halftime slot, he put out a statement about what the moment means, dedicating it to his culture and the artists who came before him.
• Kristi Noem said ICE will be all over the Super Bowl and trashed the idea of his performance.
• Donald Trump weighed in too, telling Greg Kelly he’d never heard of Bad Bunny and blasting the NFL’s choice as ridiculous.
• Bad Bunny shrugged it off on SNL, joking that everyone is thrilled he’s doing halftime — even Fox News — before rolling a montage of clips with people saying he should be the next president.

"What I’m feeling goes beyond myself. It’s for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown... this is for my people, my culture, and our history. Ve y dile a tu abuela, que seremos el HALFTIME SHOW DEL SUPER BOWL."

Where this leaves things

One ballpark moment turned into another referendum on his politics, his identity, and the NFL’s booking strategy. He doesn’t seem rattled. The halftime show is still on, the debate machine is still humming, and the Yankees game will be remembered less for the score than for who stood up during a song.

"I never heard of him. I don’t know who he is... I think it’s absolutely ridiculous."

Translation: expect more of this between now and February.