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Bad Bunny Gets the Last Laugh, Nabs Super Bowl Emmy Nod After Right-Wing Meltdown

The Puerto Rican star is up in the Outstanding Variety Special (Live) category

Bad Bunny Gets the Last Laugh, Nabs Super Bowl Emmy Nod After Right-Wing Meltdown

Football: Super Bowl LX: Musician Bad Bunny performs during the Apple Music Halftime Show during the Seattle Seahawks vs New England Patriots game at Levi's Stadium. Santa Clara, CA 2/8/2026 CREDIT: Simon Bruty (Photo by Simon Bruty/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X164840)

Sports Illustrated via Getty Images
Maya Georgi
By Maya GeorgiJul 08, 2026
Maya Georgi
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Bad Bunny stays winning. The Puerto Rican superstar just earned his first Emmy nomination for his historic 2026 Super Bowl halftime performance, specifically in the Outstanding Variety Special (Live) category.

Interestingly enough, the musician is credited twice under the official nomination, once with his birth name Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio for his role as a supervising producer of the performance, and as a performer. The performance itself earned nine nominations, including Outstanding Choreography For Variety Or Reality Programming, Outstanding Directing For A Variety Special, Outstanding Hairstyling For A Variety, Nonfiction Or Reality Program, Outstanding Production Design For A Variety Special, Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction For A Special, Outstanding Music Direction, and the aforementioned Outstanding Variety Special (Live), though Bad Bunny is only listed under Outstanding Variety Special (Live).

Bad Bunny’s Emmy nomination marks a major moment of recognition after his halftime performance caused an intense meltdown among conservatives. Before he the star took the stage, prominent Republicans denounced the NFL’s decision to make Benito the headliner. President Donald Trump even weighed in: “I never heard of him. I don’t know who he is … I don’t know why they’re doing it, it’s crazy, and then they blame it on some promoter that they hired to pick up entertainment. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous.”

Turning Point USA, a conservative organization, went as far as setting up a “counterprogram” called “The All-American Halftime Show” as an alternative to the star’s performance. conservatives then decried the performance for being in Spanish (Bad Bunny’s primary language), and the FCC received over 2,000 complaints about the halftime show, criticizing the “vulgar” dancer moves as well as Bad Bunny’s lyrics.

The 2026 Emmy Awards are set to take place on Sept. 14. Bad Bunny already has a few Grammys, so an Emmy win would bring him one step closer to EGOT status.

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