Bad Bunny In A Fight For His Name Amid Super Bowl Drama

Bad Bunny is not a fan of piracy or profiting illegally off his meticulously crafted image!

The freshly minted Grammy winner has given a backstory to why he feels so inspired to fight off anyone remotely trying to exploit his sentimental identity for their personal gain, and he has a couple of lawsuits against bootleggers to show for it, as recent as last December.

Bad Bunny won big at the recently concluded 2026 Grammy Awards, where he made a powerful statement on stage about ICE, which rattled President Donald Trump and set off concerns about him making his upcoming Super Bowl Halftime show a political performance.

The musician stated that while his name may have a hilarious touch to it, he is still very keen about protecting it, as it represented a memory of him experiencing an unhappy childhood, where he was forced to wear a rabbit costume in school. In his words:

"When I was a little boy in school, I had to dress up as a bunny, and there's a picture of me with an annoyed face, and when I saw it, I thought I should name myself. It's a name I knew would market well."

The singer also has legal filings to show how much he means business about protecting his name and trademarked identity, and his record label, Rimas Entertainment, has been a very good ally along the way to protect his name with the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Last December, Bunny's team filed a lawsuit against Mike Pinzon, from Cypress, Texas, on the basis that he was attempting to trademark his "Conejo Malo" logo to sell merchandise and accessories.

Bunny also took serious offense at bootleggers who produced fake merchandise outside his US concert venue, and blocked them from profiting off his brand.

The rapper filed complaints for trademark infringement and unfair competition against the unauthorized peddlers who are selling off unauthorized bootleg and counterfeit merchandise.

As noted by The Daily Mail, Bunny earned a win on his quest by securing a permanent injunction against fake vendors at all his American shows. The injunction also gave law enforcement agents the right to seize and destroy the inferior merchandise being sold under his name.

In a report by The Blast, beyond securing and protecting his name, the entertainer is also using his platform to speak out against the unfair anti-immigration policies that are being carried out by ICE across America, leaving injured and dead protesters in its wake.

While entertainers showed up at the February 1 event donning pins in solidarity with the American people and affected immigrants, Bunny bumped it up a notch by speaking up on one of the biggest nights of his career.

The 31-year-old had clinched the Grammy award for Album of the Year, making history as the first Latin artist to win the major category, which meant the attention on him peaked that night, and as he climbed on the stage, with his plaque in hand, the artist declared:

"I'm gonna say, ICE out. We're not savage, we're not animals, we're not aliens, we're humans, and we are Americans."

Bunny emphasized that hate is not the way to address things because fueling hate with more hate will only make it more powerful. He urged the American people to fight such a crucial time with love and be hopeful that things will get better.

Bunny's powerful statement sparked reaction across social media, including pushback from MAGA fans who claimed he would pull the same stunt at the Super Bowl, and called for a rethink on the decision to make the artist a Super Bowl headliner.

The Super Bowl LX is scheduled to take place on February 8, 2026, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, between the National Football Conference champion Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference champion New England Patriots.

The speech from Bunny on music's biggest night soon reached the stables of Trump, who is known never to mince words when it comes to his very strong opinions on issues.

The president was approached to share his thoughts on Bunny being selected for the Apple Music Super Bowl LX halftime show, and he replied that the name and the artist were all new to him.

The politician then condemned the NFL for choosing to go with the "Monaco" singer for this year's NFL Halftime Show, declaring it "crazy" and "absolutely ridiculous."

Trump has also distanced himself from any appearance at the event, first noting that it was due to how far the Northern California venue was from the White House, and then the terrible choice of the Latin singer as the headliner.

When Bunny first announced that he was appearing on the Super Bowl stage for an electric performance with a heart filled with gratitude and deep reverence for his culture, he earned a few pats on the back for his decision to accept the invite.

According to some commenters, Bunny has refused to tour America right now because of the ICE drama, which makes his choice to do the biggest show on football's biggest night a knockout political move.

Looks like nothing will stop Bunny from owning that stage on February 8, judging by the flawless show of support from the NFL during a press conference headed by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

When asked if he thinks the Puerto Rican rapper would bring the same political energy to the Super Bowl, The Blast stated that Goodell explained that what the singer did on stage at the Grammys makes him a rare breed.

The commissioner stressed that the singer fully understands how influential the Super Bowl platform is and expects nothing less than perfect from the artist, whom he thinks is "one of the great artists in the world."

Goodell continued that the Super Bowl is more than just a sporting event; it is a platform to "unite people and to be able to bring people together with their creativity" and talents.

He affirmed that the rapper had the ability to do just that, and it influenced their decision to have him on board as this year's performer.

The Super Bowl halftime performance has become a staple in pop culture, having witnessed excellent musical performances from talents like Michael Jackson, Mary J.Blige, Prince, Beyonce, Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Snoop Dogg, Usher, and many more.

The singer's fellow Puerto Rican talent published an open letter in the El Nuevo Dia newspaper as a token of appreciation for Bunny's talent, story, and stance.

The emotional tribute began with Martin recognizing how iconic it was for the rapper to win album of the year with a production done entirely in Spanish.

Martin continued in the letter that he was deeply touched and understood what it meant to succeed without forgetting one's roots, including the challenges of doing that as a fellow Puerto Rican singer.

"You won without changing the color of your voice. You won without erasing your roots. You won by staying true to Puerto Rico," Martin continued.

He revealed that he got very emotional seeing Bunny rise to receive the award while also taking time to defend immigrants by identifying that the ongoing system in the United States was one that persecutes and separates.

Martin stressed that the rapper's win represented light for an entire generation, and thanked him for making himself a reminder that one Puerto Rican's success is all Puerto Ricans' success.