The Super Bowl halftime conversation turned political after the NFL announced Bad Bunny as the Super Bowl LX halftime performer last week. Reports surfaced with speculation that Taylor Swift had been in talks with the league before ultimately passing on the offer.
The NFL named Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny as the headliner of Super Bowl LX, which will be at Levi’s Stadium on Feb. 8, 2026.
Multiple outlets had reported that Swift was in talks with the NFL but walked away from negotiations.
On Monday night, Swift addressed the speculation during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
“[The truth is] that I’m in love with a guy who does that sport on that actual field,” Swift said, explaining her priorities during the NFL season.
.@taylorswift13 addresses rumors that she turned down the Super Bowl Halftime Show
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— The Tonight Show (@FallonTonight) October 7, 2025
She added: “Can you imagine if he’s out there every single week, putting his life on the line, doing this very dangerous, very high-pressure, high-intensity sport—and I’m like, ‘I wonder what my choreo should be? I think we should do two verses of ‘Shake It Off,’ into ‘Blank Space,’ into ‘Cruel Summer’ would be great.”
Swift’s remarks come after the Bad Bunny pick prompted a polarized response.
President Donald Trump blasted the decision on Monday while speaking on Newsmax’s “Greg Kelly Reports,” calling the selection “absolutely ridiculous.”
“I never heard of him. I don’t know who he is, I don’t know why they’re doing it, it’s crazy,” Trump said.
On Saturday Night Live this past weekend, guest host Bad Bunny told detractors: “I’m really excited to be doing the Super Bowl, I know that people all around the world who love my music are also happy,” and in Spanish added, “Especially all of the Latinos and Latinas in the world here in the United States who have worked to open doors. It’s more than a win for myself; it’s a win for all of us. Our footprints and our contribution in this country, no one will ever be able to take that away or erase it.”
He later quipped in his monologue about Americans needing to learn Spanish, “If you didn’t understand what I just said, you have four months to learn.”
Before accepting the Super Bowl halftime invitation, Bad Bunny revealed he excluded the United States from his world tour due to concerns that immigration authorities might target his fans.
In a recent interview, the Puerto Rican performer said he was worried about ICE raids at his concerts and didn’t want to risk the safety of those attending.
“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,” he 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.”
When asked if he made that choice because of fears of mass deportations of Latino fans, Bad Bunny said the concern was “absolutely real.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem warned that ICE would be “all over” the Super Bowl and said agents would be present to ensure attendees “have the opportunity to enjoy it and to leave.”
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“So yeah, we’ll be all over that place. We’re going to enforce the law,” she said in a video posted to Benny Johnson’s YouTube channel.
Swift used the Fallon appearance to promote her new album, The Life of a Showgirl, which was released on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025.