Where was Bad Bunny born? Fox News host Tomi says Bad Bunny isn't "an American artist" while talking about the singer headlining Super Bowl 2026

Days after Bad Bunny was announced to be headlining the upcoming NFL Super Bowl Halftime show in February 2026, Fox News host Tomi Lahren falsely called the artist "not American" on her podcast. 

Last Tuesday (September 30), Lahren was interviewing Krystal Ball on her Tomi Lahren is Fearless podcast, where she asked Ball if Bunny was a good choice for the Super Bowl. The latter responded with:

"I'm not that knowledgeable about him, but it seems fine, and I don't see why it's such a big deal. He seems like a great American artist."

To that, Lahren said: "He's not an American artist."

Krystal Ball quickly corrected the host, saying: 

"He's Puerto Rican… That's part of America, dear."

For the unversed, Bad Bunny - originally named Benito Antonio Martínez - was born in Bayamón, which is a Puerto Rican city, and raised in Vega Baja - another Puerto Rican city. 

Bunny is also a Spanish-dominant singer, with a majority of his works being in his mother tongue. 

The exchange between Lahren and Ball about Antonio not being an American artist has since gone viral on the internet, with many netizens criticizing the news host for lacking general knowledge of the US.

Bad Bunny hit back at Fox News during his SNL appearance last week

Following his Super Bowl headlining gig announcement, Bad Bunny also appeared on Saturday Night Live (SNL) later last week, where he spoke about it in his opening monologue. 

In his bilingual monologue, Benito appeared to take a hit at Fox News for Lahren's comment, saying:

"I’m very happy. And I think everyone is happy about it. Even Fox News."

He continued the rest of his speech in Spanish, then concluding it in English as he said:

"And if you didn't understand what I just said, you have four months to learn. We have a great show for you tonight!"

Bunny's appearance on SNL on October 4 marked the debut of the show's 50th season, where he was also joined by Doja Cat.

Variety reports that Bunny's episode will be followed by Amy Poehler this week, who will return to Studio 8H to host with Role Model doing the musical act. And next week (on October 18), Sabrina Carpenter will take SNL's stage, playing the dual role of both the host and the musical guest.

Tomi Lehran isn't the only one who finds Bad Bunny headlining at the Halftime show problematic. 

Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem also appeared to be threatening illegal immigrants from attending Bunny's show next year, as she said on Benny Johnson's podcast on Friday. 

Claiming that ICE enforcement will be present at the Super Bowl show, Noem said:

"So yeah, we’ll be all over that place... We’re going to enforce the law. So I think people should not be coming to the Super Bowl unless they’re law-abiding Americans who love this country."

When asked about her thoughts on NFL picking Bad Bunny for the Halftime show on the podcast, Noem went as far as to say, "Well, they suck". 

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