The Super Bowl LX halftime show on February 8, 2026, at Levi’s Stadium featured Puerto Rican star Bad Bunny in a 13-minute set mostly in Spanish.
It included his popular songs, guest spots by Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, Puerto Rican cultural touches like sugar cane fields, and messages of unity such as “The only thing more powerful than hate is love” and “Together we are America.”
The NBC broadcast featured lively crowd cheers and applause, making the performance look energetic. However, videos recorded by people in the stadium told a different story.
In those clips, the live crowd stayed quiet with little clapping or excitement. Fans appeared bored, some on their phones or heading to concessions early.
Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX halftime show is accused of adding audio
Side-by-side comparisons went viral, showing the TV version with regular cheers every few seconds, while phone recordings had almost no sound from the stands. Critics said the media added fake applause to hide the lack of real energy.
One observer noted that the cheers followed a fixed pattern, unlike natural crowd reactions, which vary in length.
You literally can’t make this up
The media added cheers and applause to The Super Bowl halftime show with Bad Bunny
Here’s the media’s clip vs someone who was there filming the show with their cell phone
The cheers and applause aren’t there
The media is lying to you pic.twitter.com/fSLPzXbxwb
— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) February 12, 2026
President Donald Trump called the show “absolutely terrible, one of the worst ever,” and an “affront to the Greatness of America.” He said it felt forced. Other voices echoed that the broadcast tried to make it seem more popular than it was.
Recent Nielsen data revealed that viewership for the event started strong, reaching a peak of 137.8 million viewers before halftime. However, after halftime, the average dropped to 128.2 million, marking a significant decline of 9.6 million viewers, the largest drop recorded from peak viewership.
The halftime show was still impressive, ranking as the fourth most-watched ever, following performances by Kendrick Lamar, Michael Jackson, and Usher in previous years.
Although clips from the event received over 4 billion views on social media within 24 hours, many viewers seemed to disengage during the live broadcast.
The NFL and NBC have not commented on audio claims. Past events used enhanced sound for TV, but this case raised questions about trust in broadcasts. It added to debates on the show’s choice and its fit for all viewers.
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