Former CNN host Don Lemon turned Super Bowl 60 into yet another cultural flashpoint with a post-halftime rant that managed to blend confusion, dismissal, and moral lecturing into one breathless monologue. Lemon openly admitted he did not understand Bad Bunny’s music, lyrics, or language during the halftime show—but insisted none of that mattered, because in his view the performance symbolized what America is “really” about.
In a video posted after the show, Lemon ticked through his reactions with performative casualness. He acknowledged that he didn’t recognize the songs, didn’t know what was being sung, and didn’t understand the lyrics.
Then came the punchline: he didn’t care. For Lemon, comprehension was irrelevant because Bad Bunny, he claimed, “represents what America is about.” That declaration quickly expanded into a familiar lecture about immigration, with Lemon asserting that “everybody” in America is an immigrant and framing criticism of the performance as cultural intolerance rather than aesthetic judgment.
An angry Don Lemon shares his Super Bowl halftime show thoughts, attempting to praise it but actually proving why it was terrible.
He admits he didn’t recognize much of what they were singing or saying and didn’t care. He laughably claims English isn’t the original language of… pic.twitter.com/qhPIHDQcwr
— Paul A. Szypula (@Bubblebathgirl) February 9, 2026
Lemon then waded into language politics, arguing that English is not the “original” language of the United States and dismissing objections to a Spanish-language halftime show as ignorance rooted in colonial history. He emphasized Puerto Rico’s status as part of the United States, portraying any discomfort with the performance as a refusal to accept demographic and cultural reality. The message was clear: liking the show was a moral virtue, and disliking it required explanation, if not correction.
The rant took a sharper turn when Lemon targeted Turning Point USA’s counterprogramming, The All-American Halftime Show. He singled out Kid Rock, the show’s headliner, dismissing him in crude terms and accusing him of glorifying underage sex—an allegation presented as fact without context or substantiation. Lemon also attacked TPUSA CEO Erica Kirk, saying she should be “ashamed” for allowing Kid Rock to headline the event. The contrast Lemon drew was stark: Bad Bunny was elevated as a symbol of inclusion and progress, while the alternative was cast as morally repugnant by default.
Bad Bunny offbeat mumble rapping in broken Puerto Rican Spanish while 99% of the crowd stares in regret at their 9-0 halftime score ticket purchase.
You may not like it, but this is actually high art. pic.twitter.com/sFYaZGWrF9
— aaron (@JHardRTolkien) February 9, 2026
What Lemon did not address is the unresolved question of reception. Despite glowing praise from predictable media corners, the popularity of Bad Bunny’s halftime show remains debatable. Turning Point USA reported more than five million viewers for its online counterprogram, an unusually large audience for a digital alternative competing against the Super Bowl itself. Meanwhile, footage from inside the stadium showed large portions of the crowd standing still, with relatively few fans visibly engaged, undercutting claims of universal enthusiasm.
President Donald Trump weighed in bluntly, calling the halftime show “one of the worst, EVER,” criticizing its lack of clarity, appropriateness for children, and cultural resonance. Lemon preemptively waved off such criticism as irrelevant, insisting that praise from mainstream media would follow regardless—and suggesting that public disapproval simply reflected a failure to grasp the “real world.”
