Bill Maher says conservatives are still butt-hurt over Bad Bunny’s halftime show. (Photo Credit: Getty Images)
Bill Maher isn’t exactly known for holding back, and this week he had plenty to say about the Republican backlash to Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show.
On the Friday, February 13 episode of Real Time With Bill Maher, the late-night host, 70, weighed in on Bad Bunny’s record-breaking performance and made it clear he thinks a lot of the outrage is just plain ridiculous.
According to TV Insider, Maher joked, “A lot of conservative America is very butt-hurt these days. They’re still recovering from the halftime show.”
Maher didn’t stop there. He pointed out what he sees as Republicans constantly shifting their complaints depending on what sounds better in the moment. Talking about the response to the Puerto Rican superstar, 31, Maher said, “They hated it because it was in Spanish. But now they’re pretending to hate because it was smutty. And it was sexual, very overtly sexual, with dirty lyrics. Well, what do you expect? He’s not called Good Bunny.”
Then Maher brought President Donald Trump into it, taking a shot at Trump’s comments about the language barrier.
He continued: “[President Donald ]Trump said, ‘Nobody could understand a word the guy said.’ I never understood a word Mick Jagger said either, but I still enjoyed his show.”
Even though Maher admitted he couldn’t understand Bad Bunny’s all-Spanish halftime show either, he said that didn’t stop him from enjoying it. In fact, he compared the whole experience to watching an Olympic sport most people don’t totally get.
“I looked at it like Olympic curling,” Maher said. “I had no idea what the f* was happening. But I was like, ‘Everyone looks like they’re having fun. F* it, I’m in.”
The jokes came after Trump, 79, publicly trashed the performance shortly after it wrapped up on Sunday, February 8. The president took to Truth Social to unload his review.
“The Super Bowl Halftime Show is absolutely terrible, one of the worst, EVER!” the POTUS declared. “It makes no sense, is an affront to the Greatness of America, and doesn’t represent our standards of Success, Creativity, or Excellence.”
Trump added, “Nobody understands a word this guy is saying, and the dancing is disgusting, especially for young children that are watching from throughout the U.S.A., and all over the World.”
Despite the criticism, official ratings for Bad Bunny’s performance showed it averaged 128.2 million viewers between 8:15 and 8:30 p.m. ET, falling short of Kendrick Lamar‘s record-setting 133.5 million in 2025. Meanwhile, 5 million tuned in to Turning Point USA’s “All-American Halftime Show” performer Kid Rock.
