Share and Follow
Country legend Lee Greenwood has confirmed he would love to perform at the Super Bowl after House speaker Mike Johnson called for him to replace Bad Bunny.
The Puerto Rican artist is set to sing at next year’s end-of-season showpiece at Levi’s Stadium – despite a backlash from Donald Trump and his allies.
Johnson is among those to have criticized the decision to pick Bad Bunny, who has been accused of ‘hating America’.
Trump called the choice ‘crazy’ and ‘absolutely ridiculous’ and the singer sparked more anger this week after he opted not to stand for ‘God Bless America’ while at Yankee Stadium for New York’s playoff clash with the Blue Jays.
That incident came just hours after house speaker Johnson suggested 82-year-old Greenwood would be a better choice. And on Wednesday the ‘God Bless the USA’ singer told TMZ he would relish the opportunity.
Greenwood said that, given Bad Bunny is already confirmed for halftime, he could fire up fans before the game instead.
Country legend Lee Greenwood has said he would love to perform at the Super Bowl
House speaker Mike Johnson (R) called for Greenwood to replace Bad Bunny at Super Bowl LX
Bad Bunny – who was born Benito Antonio Martinez – previously cited ICE agents as a reason he did not include any mainland US dates for his upcoming tour. And, on Tuesday, Johnson branded the Puerto Rican a ‘terrible’ choice.
Bad Bunny is among the most streamed artists on Spotify but Johnson claimed ‘it sounds like he’s not someone who appeals to a broader audience.’
The house speaker told Migrant Insider: ‘I didn’t even know who Bad Bunny was. But it sounds like a terrible decision in my view from what I’m hearing.’
‘It sounds like he’s not someone who appeals to a broader audience and there are so many eyes on the Super Bowl – a lot of young, impressionable children.
‘And, in my view, you would have Lee Greenwood or Role Models doing that. Not somebody like this.’
Greenwood recently appeared on stage with Trump at the memorial service for Charlie Kirk. The 82-year-old is no stranger to NFL games, having performed the national anthem or ‘God Bless the USA’ at stadiums across the country.
Greenwood is reportedly set to play a halftime show at the Dallas Cowboys’ Monday Night Football clash against the Arizona Cardinals on November 3.
The country singer’s team told TMZ he has no ill-feelings towards Bad Bunny. But Greenwood is nevertheless reportedly frustrated at how divided the country has become over the halftime show.
Donald Trump called the decision to give the show to the Puerto Rican rapper ‘crazy’
The president told Newsmax that he was unfamiliar with the 31-year-old musician (right)
Trump addressed the Bad Bunny controversy earlier this week, telling Newsmax: ‘I have never heard of him, I don’t know who he is, I don’t know why they’re doing it, it’s crazy… I think it’s absolutely ridiculous.’
The president’s ally Corey Lewandowski, meanwhile, previously called it ‘so shameful’ that ‘they picked someone who seems to hate America.’
Lewandowski also confirmed that ICE agents will be patrolling San Francisco during the Super Bowl.
‘There is nowhere you can provide safe haven to people who are in this country illegally,’ he said. ‘Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else. We will find and deport you. That is a very real situation.’
Bad Bunny was the host of ‘Saturday Night Live’ over the weekend and, during his opening monologue, the Puerto Rican addressed his haters.
‘You might not know this but I’m doing the Super Bowl halftime show and I’m very happy and I think everyone is happy about it – even Fox News,’ Bad Bunny said.
A heavily-edited clip then played, stitching together the comments of various Fox anchors and pundits so that they said: ‘Bad Bunny is my favorite musician and he should be the next president.’
He continued: ‘Thank you. Wow, thank you. But really, I am very excited to be doing the Super Bowl and I know that people all around the world who love my music are also happy.’
Greenwood is reportedly set to play a halftime show at the Dallas Cowboys on November 3
The rapper than spoke in Spanish for several seconds before finishing his monologue by saying: ‘If you did not understand what I just said… you have four months to learn!’
In the Spanish portion of his monologue, Bad Bunny took another shot at his critics and thanked those who paved the way for him.
‘Especially all of the Latinos and Latinas in the world here in the United States who have worked to open doors,’ he said.
‘It’s more than a win for myself, it’s a win for all of us. Our footprints and our contribution in this country, no one will ever be able to take that away or erase it.’
