Ben Stiller has publicly pushed back against calls for federal action over Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX halftime show, mocking a Republican congressman’s demand for an investigation and defending the performance as a celebration of inclusion and talent.
The Severance executive producer and director weighed in after Florida representative Randy Fine said he was asking the Federal Communications Commission to investigate Bad Bunny’s halftime appearance, which aired during Sunday’s Super Bowl.
Fine described the show as “disgusting and por**graphic filth” and claimed it violated broadcast standards after the Puerto Rican superstar allegedly used profanity in Spanish.
Stiller responded directly to Fine on X with a sharply sarcastic post that quickly gained traction.
“Focus of investigation: how did Bad Bunny manage to kick ass at such a high level and deliver the most watched and well produced half time show about inclusion and love ever made….investigators plan to explore source of Bunny’s huge talent, off the charts charisma and even bigger heart,” he wrote.
Fine, a Republican representing Florida’s 6th congressional district, had earlier said he was sending a letter to FCC chairman Brendan Carr calling for what he described as “dramatic action”.
In posts and in the letter, Fine argued that language used during the performance crossed legal lines.
“You can’t say the f-word on live TV. ‘Bad Bunny’s disgusting halftime show was illegal,” he wrote on X.
He added that if similar lyrics had been performed in English, “the broadcast would have been pulled down and the fines would have been enormous.”
In the letter itself, Fine doubled down, writing, “It doesn’t matter if you say it in Spanish. Encouraging children to use cocaine in a live television broadcast is a crime. It doesn’t matter who is singing.”
He urged the FCC “to conduct a thorough investigation and to pursue the maximum penalties permitted by law,” warning that anything less would suggest indecency is acceptable if it is profitable.
Fine was not alone in his criticism.
Tennessee representative Andy Ogles and Missouri representative Mark Alford also called for the FCC to look into the halftime show.
Donald Trump joined the backlash, branding the performance “a slap in the face to our country”, despite Bad Bunny being an American citizen born in Puerto Rico.
Stiller’s comments, however, turned him into one of the most prominent Hollywood figures to publicly ridicule the campaign against the artist.
Stiller’s stance echoed similar online reactions from other entertainment figures, including Watch What Happens Live host Andy Cohen, who also spent time after the Super Bowl mocking critics of Bad Bunny’s performance on social media.
Despite the political uproar, the halftime show itself drew massive attention, and the controversy appears to have further highlighted its cultural reach, with Stiller’s defence underlining a broader pushback against efforts to police language, culture and identity on one of television’s biggest stages.
