Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX halftime show at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, included a brief on-field moment that quickly became a flashpoint for wider arguments about immigration, identity and political messaging, after viewers circulated footage of the Puerto Rican star handing what appeared to be a Grammy trophy to a young boy during the performance.
In the sequence, shown during the televised broadcast and widely re-shared on social platforms, Martínez Ocasio, performing amid a Puerto Rico-themed set, approached a child positioned beside an old-style television prop. He then placed his Grammy trophy into the boy’s hands before moving back into the choreography and continuing the set.
Within minutes, social media users began speculating about the child’s identity and the meaning of the gesture. A wave of posts on X argued that the boy was Liam Conejo Ramos, a five-year-old whose detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in January prompted national attention and protests, and which had become a rallying point for critics of the administration’s immigration enforcement. One X user, quoted by UNILAD, claimed: “The little boy, Bad Bunny, gave the Grammy to resemble Liam Ramos. Wouldn’t be surprised is it was intentional.” Another wrote: “Pretty sure Bad Bunny gave one of his Grammys to Liam Ramos… Love over hate, always.”
The online theory spread as clips were shared alongside accounts of Ramos’s case. Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, were detained by ICE agents on 20 January, and a federal judge later ordered their release from a detention centre in Dilley, Texas, according to U.S. media reports.
However, the boy in the halftime show was not Ramos. Child actor Lincoln Fox posted about the appearance on Instagram, writing: “I’ll remember this day forever! @badbunnypr – it was my truest honor.”
Other outlets also reported that representatives linked to the production confirmed the child was Fox, who was portraying Bad Bunny as a younger version of himself, as speculation continued online.
The moment was one of several elements that commentators and viewers pointed to when discussing the performance’s political subtext. During the show, a football shown to camera carried the words “Together we are America,” while a stadium billboard displayed the line, “The only thing more powerful than hate is love,” according to reporting on the broadcast and the performance.
Bad Bunny also made remarks during the set that were framed by some as a call for unity. Pitchfork reported that he told the crowd, “Everybody, believe in yourselves!” and later concluded the performance as the show’s messaging appeared on stadium displays.
The halftime show followed Bad Bunny’s widely circulated speech at the Grammy Awards a week earlier, after he won Album of the Year for Debí Tirar Más Fotos. In remarks reported internationally, he said: “We are not savage. We are not animals, we are not aliens, we are humans, and we are Americans.” He added: “The hate gets more powerful with more hate. The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love.”
The combination of the Grammy trophy moment, the set design and the messaging drew an immediate reaction from President Donald Trump, who criticised the performance on social media. ABC News reported Trump described it as “absolutely terrible, one of the worst, EVER,” and called it a “‘slap in the face’ to our country.” Reuters likewise reported Trump attacked the halftime show in a post, calling it “absolutely terrible.”
Entertainment Weekly and other outlets reported Trump called it “an affront to the Greatness of America,” and claimed “nobody understands a word this guy is saying,” with criticism focused in part on the prominence of Spanish-language music and choreography during one of the largest U.S. television events of the year.
The controversy also reignited scrutiny of the broader political climate around immigration enforcement and the place of Spanish-language culture in mainstream U.S. broadcasting. Ramos’s detention in January had become a prominent example cited by critics of the administration, and his release was covered as part of ongoing legal and political battles over detention of families and asylum seekers.
Even after the child on stage was identified as a performer, discussion continued online about why the scene was staged in that way and why the prop used was a Grammy trophy. UNILAD reported that some viewers interpreted it as a reference to Bad Bunny’s own childhood and rise, noting the singer has won multiple Grammys, while others described it as a nod to the wider debate about immigration crackdowns and the treatment of Spanish-speaking communities in the United States.
The halftime show itself was built around imagery tied to Puerto Rican life and diaspora, beginning with scenes staged around a sugar cane farm and neighbourhood settings, and featuring guest appearances including Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin. Pitchfork described a sequence in which Bad Bunny moved through vignettes of daily life, before the camera later cut to a family watching his Grammy speech on a small television, followed by the trophy handover to the young boy.
For organisers and broadcasters, the episode underscored how quickly a single televised moment can be reshaped by online interpretation, particularly when it intersects with a high-profile real-world story. The claim that the child was Ramos was widely repeated in posts before being debunked by the actor’s own statement and subsequent reporting.
As of Monday, discussion of the performance remained split between those praising the staging and messaging and those echoing the president’s criticism. Reuters reported conservative groups also sought to use the moment to promote alternative programming tied to their political branding, highlighting how the halftime show has become not only a cultural event but a proxy battleground for competing narratives about national identity.
