Bad Bunny is considered controversial for a mix of past behavior, political stances, and culture‑war backlash around his image and upcoming events like the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show. Some people see him as a boundary‑pushing, progressive artist, while others view parts of his past and persona as hypocritical, offensive, or simply too explicit.

Quick Scoop: Main Reasons He’s Controversial

  • Early‑career use of offensive language and slurs in songs, especially on SoundCloud, which were later removed and are still brought up in forum discussions as “receipts” of problematic behavior.
  • Public incidents with fans, including viral criticism when he threw a fan’s phone, which many saw as disrespectful and entitled, fueling “cancel Bad Bunny” discourse online.
  • Explicit, highly sexual lyrics and themes that some audiences describe as vulgar or degrading to women, especially when discussing whether he is appropriate for massively family‑viewed events like the Super Bowl.
  • Political friction with conservative and MAGA circles, including clashes over immigration, Puerto Rico, and his public criticism of Donald Trump, which turned him into a symbol in US culture‑war debates.
  • The 2026 Super Bowl halftime show decision to have him perform largely or fully in Spanish, which sparked backlash from some right‑wing commentators and fans, who frame it as “un‑American” or “too political,” while others call that criticism racist or xenophobic.
  • Ongoing gossip‑style “dark side of Bad Bunny” videos and posts dissecting his relationships, alleged bad behavior, and old clips, which keep controversy trending even when there’s no single huge scandal.

Old Behavior & “Problematic Past”

Many long‑time pop‑culture forum users point to his early career as the root of some controversy.

  • Users recall that in his early SoundCloud days he used racial and offensive slurs; the tracks are often described as deleted or scrubbed but still referenced in fan communities.
  • These discussions feed a narrative that his current progressive or inclusive image doesn’t fully square with his older material, leading some to call him hypocritical while others argue that he has grown and changed.

This “receipts vs. growth” tension is a standard pattern in modern celebrity culture, and Bad Bunny is a textbook example.

Incidents With Fans & Public Image

Bad Bunny’s relationship with fans isn’t only adoration; specific incidents made headlines and fueled “he’s changed” or “fame got to him” takes.

  • A widely circulated case is the fan‑phone incident, where he grabbed a fan’s phone and threw it, sparking debates about boundaries, consent, and celebrity entitlement.
  • Clips and commentary channels package this moment as part of a broader “dark side of Bad Bunny” narrative, tying it to other allegedly rude or dismissive moments.

Supporters often counter that celebrities endure constant invasions of privacy and that isolated clips don’t show the full context, while critics say it shows a pattern of disrespect.

Lyrics, Sex, and “Is He Family‑Friendly?”

His music plays a big role in why some people are uncomfortable with him at ultra‑mainstream events.

  • Commenters regularly describe his lyrics as very explicit, with graphic sexual references that some consider vulgar or disrespectful, especially toward women.
  • This becomes a flashpoint in discussions about events like the Super Bowl: people worry about grandparents and kids watching a performance built on songs that reference things like intimate acts “where she poops and pees,” as one user paraphrased.

Fans argue that explicit lyrics are common in pop and hip‑hop and point out that other artists with equally explicit content have performed without this level of moral panic.

Politics, Trump, and the Super Bowl

In recent years, Bad Bunny has become a political lightning rod in the US, especially on the right.

  • He has been openly critical of Donald Trump, particularly over immigration policy and the federal response to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, including wearing protest messaging at benefit events.
  • For some MAGA‑aligned commentators, he’s framed as an “anti‑Trump” and “anti‑ICE” figure, which makes him controversial regardless of the music.
  • His upcoming 2026 Super Bowl halftime show, reportedly planned largely in Spanish, has triggered backlash from some who claim he is “not American” or “should sing in English,” even though Puerto Ricans are US citizens and he has a large US fanbase.

Others see this backlash itself as racist or xenophobic, arguing that objections are less about his behavior and more about discomfort with Spanish‑language and Latino visibility on one of the biggest US broadcast stages.

What Forums and Gossip Channels Say

Online forums and gossip creators add fuel by compiling every misstep into a single “controversy package.”

  • Reddit threads unpack his early slurs, the “Safaera” royalties drama involving Missy Elliott, and claims about how his circle handled fan backlash, painting a more complicated picture than his public branding.
  • Commentary videos and blog posts talk about his relationships, his behavior toward women, and fan interactions, giving the “is he cancelled?” question constant oxygen even when he’s topping charts and landing massive gigs.

These spaces rarely agree: some users insist he’s a narcissistic abuser; others say these are exaggerated takes built from partial information and parasocial expectations.

Different Viewpoints on Bad Bunny

Here’s how opinions usually split:

  • Critics say he:
    • Has a history of offensive language that hasn’t been fully addressed.
* Acts disrespectfully toward fans in some situations.
* Makes music that is too explicit or misogynistic for huge family events.
* Plays into culture wars while claiming to be apolitical.
  • Supporters say he:
    • Has evolved from his early career and uses his platform for Puerto Rican and Latino visibility.
* Pushes gender and masculinity norms in reggaeton, which some find empowering and refreshing.
* Is being targeted by racist or xenophobic criticism, especially over language and immigration issues.
* Is held to a double standard compared with English‑speaking male artists with similar or worse lyrical content.

In practice, his career is thriving: he continues to headline major tours, dominate streaming, and now lead the Super Bowl halftime show, even as sections of the internet debate whether he’s “problematic” or “cancelled.”

TL;DR

Bad Bunny is controversial because of a mix of earlier offensive lyrics, high‑profile bad‑behavior moments, explicit sexual content, and his role in US political culture wars—especially around Trump, immigration, and a Spanish‑language Super Bowl show. Whether people see him as a dangerous symbol, a flawed but normal celebrity, or a progressive cultural icon largely depends on their politics, comfort with explicit content, and views on Latino representation in mainstream American media.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.