Jon Stewart sharply criticized conservative reactions to Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LVIII halftime show on Monday’s episode of “The Daily Show,” highlighting what he characterized as a demand for performances that align with a specific political worldview. The criticism followed a show featuring a mix of Bad Bunny’s hits, performances with Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin and a surprise appearance by the Mandalorian, as well as segments including a mock wedding and a United Nations simulation.
Stewart mocked the outrage, joking that Bad Bunny “killed it, despite being trapped in an inescapable sugarcane hedge maze.” He then played a clip of conservative commentator Benny Johnson calling the performance “the single worst halftime show in NFL history,” responding with a dismissive, “Oh, right. I forgot.”
The comedian’s monologue focused on the perception that some critics were objecting not to the quality of the performance, but to its departure from traditional expectations. “For a significant portion of Americans, everything that happens must uniformly be filtered through a particular MAGA-centric worldview and judged on how well it conforms to that traditional vision, which doesn’t include knowing where the biblioteca is,” Stewart said, referencing a popular meme from Bad Bunny’s performance.
Stewart further addressed claims that the performance, largely in Spanish, was divisive. He questioned why the Super Bowl halftime show should be responsible for “unifying the country,” suggesting that responsibility falls to other elected officials. He then played a clip of former President Donald Trump, via NBC News, calling the show “absolutely terrible, one of the worst ever,” and stating, “nobody understands a word this guy is saying.”
Responding to Trump’s comment, Stewart joked, “Nobody? I love that he thinks Bad Bunny is the one guy in the world that’s fluent in Spanish.” He continued, “’It’s a dead language.’ You understand the right has a lot of balls complaining that Bad Bunny didn’t do enough to unify this country when you only found out a few days ago that Puerto Rico’s a part of it!”
The monologue similarly touched on a performance by Kid Rock at a Turning Point USA event, intended as an alternative to the Super Bowl halftime show. A clip of Kid Rock’s poorly lip-synced performance, accompanied by unintelligible captions, was shown, highlighting the contrast between the two shows. The Daily Show’s segment aired six hours after initial reports of Stewart’s critique began circulating, according to Variety.
