SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Legendary guitarist Carlos Santana has addressed and dismissed rumors suggesting he disapproved of Bad Bunny being chosen for the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show. Social media chatter had inaccurately suggested that the acclaimed musician was upset about the Puerto Rican artist headlining this major event.

Further speculation even hinted that Santana was positioning himself as an alternative performer.

On Monday, Santana decisively took to Facebook to debunk these claims and expressed his enthusiastic support for Bad Bunny.

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Rock icon Carlos Santana has hit back at a rumor he opposed Bad Bunny’s upcoming Super Bowl halftime show. Posts circulating online claimed the multi-Grammy Award-winning guitarist was unhappy with the Puerto Rican superstar’s selection as this year’s halftime entertainer.

Some even went as far as to claim Santana was offering himself as a potential replacement.

Santana, on Monday, took to Facebook to vehemently deny the rumors and throw his support behind Bad Bunny.

“I congratulate and celebrate Bad Bunny’s success and his position right now in the world and with the Super Bowl,” Santana said in a statement. “I feel total oneness with what he’s doing because we are here to utilize art to complement and bring the world closer to harmony and oneness.”

“However, we’re living in a time of fear, division, separation, superiority and inferiority,” Santana continued. “Fear is the flavor right now. Fear is what motivates ignorant people to put words in my mouth — saying that I didn’t want Bad Bunny to be represented at the Super Bowl. I never said that, nor would I ever.”

“Just to be clear, my heart is in total harmony with Bad Bunny, and I celebrate his success, his triumph and his phenomenal achievement. Anything other than that is coming from people’s ignorance,” he added.

Santana’s manager, Michael Vrionis, dismissed the rumors, including one that Santana had slammed Bad Bunny for wearing a dress in a performance, as AI misinformation.

“AI has accelerated the spread of misinformation, making it harder for the truth to break through the noise,” Vrionis said in a statement cited by Billboard. “Don’t rely on random or unverified posts — even well-meaning outlets can get misled.”

Santana, 78, was born in Mexico and later moved to San Francisco with his family in the early 1960s. He formed the Santana Blues Band in 1966. The following year, the band shortened its name to Santana.