We probably should’ve seen this one coming.
Amid the ongoing far-right fury over the Bad Bunny Super Bowl Halftime Show, a conservative organization is now offering an alternative to viewers who are outraged by … the idea of song lyrics in any language other than English?
The organization in question is Turning Point USA, which was founded by the late Charlie Kirk and is now headed by his widow, Erika Kirk.
Erika was named CEO of Turning Point following the murder of her husband last month.
The alternative halftime show is the first major initiative of her tenure.
The official TPUSA X account announced “The All American Halftime Show” on Thursday afternoon, adding that “performers and event details coming soon.”
The tweet then links to a poll, in which users can vote on the genre of the performance.
The options include: “Anything in English,” “Americana,” “Classic Rock,” “Pop,” and “Worship.”
“Hip Hop” is also an option, which, as many have pointed out, is somewhat ironic, given that Charlie famously instructed his supporters to “stop listening to rap music and this degenerate hip hop stuff.”
Shortly after news of the alternative halftime show went public, various conservative pundits applauded the news:
“Bad Bunny told Americans they had 4 months to learn Spanish if we wanted to understand the Super Bowl halftime show,” Riley Gaines wrote, referring to comments Bad Bunny made while hosting Saturday Night Live last week.
“No thanks. We’ll just have our own. Enjoy your low-rated halftime show.”
Why all the hate for Bad Bunny?
Gaines and Turning Point are not the first conservatives to lash out at the idea of a Spanish-language halftime show — far from it, in fact.
Donald Trump blasted Bad Bunny shortly after the rapper announced that he’d been selected to perform during the Super Bowl.
Shortly thereafter, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson echoed Trump’s remarks, stating that he believes the NFL made “a terrible decision.”
So why is hating on Bad Bunny the trendiest new activity among the MAGA set?
Well, it’s tough to say, but many seem to be under the impression that the artist — who was born in the US territory of Puerto Rico — is not American.
Of course, even if that were true, stars who were born outside of the US — including Rihanna, The Weeknd, and Shakira — have performed at the Super Bowl, and no one protested those shows.
But those performances took place in the years before every single development was a new battleground in the never-ending culture war that pits Americans against their neighbors.
Obviously, the folks at Turning Point USA have the right to run their anti-Bunny counterprogramming.
But hopefully, we’re approaching the day when Americans will stop viewing matters like this in terms of Red vs. Blue and instead acquire a healthy suspicion for anyone who’s seeking to further divide this already combative nation.