Republican lawmakers requested a federal review of Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX halftime show. They claimed the performance included profane or indecent language. However, reports this week indicated that the Federal Communications Commission did not find any actionable violations in what aired on NBC.
Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., mentioned that the performance was under investigation due to questions about the Spanish-language lyrics. “On the Bad Bunny, bad performance at the Super Bowl at halftime, we’re still investigating this. There’s a lot of information that has come out about the lyrics,” Alford said in a televised interview. He also stated that he intended to discuss the broadcast with FCC Chair Brendan Carr.
Alford admitted he does not speak Spanish. “I don’t speak fluent Spanish; I know how to ask where the bathroom is,” he said, while asserting that the lyrics were “very disturbing” based on the translations he had reviewed.
Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., also called for FCC action, posting on X that broadcasting the F-word on live television is illegal and labeling Bad Bunny’s show as “illegal.” Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., asked the House Energy and Commerce Committee for a formal inquiry into the NFL and NBCUniversal, describing the show as “explicit and indecent,” according to People.
The FCC regulates obscene content at all times and limits indecent and profane content on broadcast television and radio between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., according to the agency. The Super Bowl aired on NBC, a broadcast network, placing it under the FCC’s standards.
Rep. Mark Alford: “On the Bad Bunny bad performance at the Super Bowl — we’re still investigating this. There’s a lot of information that has come out about the lyrics. I saw the halftime show — we were switching back and forth with the TPUSA halftime show. The lyrics from what… pic.twitter.com/YZP2XKdDPD
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 10, 2026
Axios reported that much of the criticism was based on translations of studio versions of songs, not the lyrics that were performed during the halftime show on February 8 in Santa Clara, California. Axios noted that Bad Bunny did not use the F-word in the televised performance and that suggestive words in a segment of “Safaera” were bleeped during the broadcast.
Viewership for the performance was high. The Associated Press reported that Bad Bunny’s halftime show averaged 128.2 million viewers, making it the fourth most-watched Super Bowl halftime show. It also broke Telemundo’s records for Spanish-language halftime audiences.
While lawmakers publicly discussed an investigation and potential penalties, the New York Post’s “On the Money” column reported that the FCC had looked into the broadcast. Based on its initial review, the FCC concluded the songs aired in a censored form that avoided violations, resulting in the agency setting the matter aside unless new evidence emerged. This account was cited by Sinclair’s National News Desk in a report shared by multiple local stations.
The backlash was further fueled by claims circulating online that Bad Bunny used language not present in the broadcast. A recent fact-check noted false viral posts claiming that the performer had already been fined millions of dollars, using a made-up “FCC commissioner” name.
People reported that the Republican criticism followed an organized conservative counterprogramming effort called the “All American Halftime Show.” The objections from lawmakers mirrored previous political controversies surrounding Super Bowl halftime performances. Axios noted that the FCC received complaints after past halftime shows, including Rihanna’s in 2023.
Neither the NFL nor Bad Bunny publicly responded to the lawmakers’ calls in the cited reports.
