How did those Bad Bunny-themed, anti-ICE towels get into the Super Bowl?

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The most popular item fans are looking for at the Super Bowl this year won’t be available to buy in stores, and the NFL likely wishes people wouldn’t bring it to the game.

As a Bad Bunny fan, I absolutely love this rally towel! One side has this adorable cartoon bunny kicking a football, drawn by the amazing Lalo Alcaraz. It’s a perfect nod to Bad Bunny’s incredible halftime show performance. But the other side is where it really gets powerful – it clearly says “ICE OUT,” and it’s a really strong statement. It’s a fun piece of merch with a serious message!

Just before the Super Bowl, activists secretly handed out 15,000 flyers to fans as they entered Levi’s Stadium. They were trying to show support for an artist who recently used their Grammy Awards platform to advocate for Latinos and immigrants.

The NFL doesn’t want the game – or its halftime show – to be seen as a protest against the recent ICE raids that have impacted cities across the country. However, the people organizing the demonstration hope their message will be impossible to ignore for those in attendance.

Shasti Conrad, a leader with Contra-ICE and a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, explained her belief in finding joy as a form of protest. She said today’s events, centered around American sports, offer a valuable platform to make voices heard and demonstrate widespread opposition to Donald Trump and the Department of Homeland Security. She emphasized that every chance to challenge those in power is significant.

Music

Last week, Minneapolis rapper and activist Nur-D (Matthew Allen) physically intervened to protest against ICE.

The criticism was strong enough to prevent President Trump from attending the game. He had previously expressed his disapproval of performers Bad Bunny and Green Day, saying, “I’m against them.” He called the decision to include them “terrible,” arguing that it only creates division and hatred.

As the Super Bowl approaches, there’s some political activity surrounding the game. Kid Rock is performing a competing halftime show for Turning Point USA, aiming to energize supporters of Donald Trump. Meanwhile, Green Day used their pre-game performance to criticize Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with Billie Joe Armstrong urging ICE agents to resign and join what he sees as the right side.

The NFL usually controls what its Super Bowl halftime performers say, but this year’s pick, Bad Bunny, is particularly significant. It comes at a time of heightened debate over federal immigration raids that have resulted in tragic consequences, including the deaths of two protestors and the detention of many others.

Watching Bad Bunny accept his Grammy last week was really powerful. He made such a clear point about how people talk about Puerto Ricans and other communities. He said, and it really stuck with me, that they’re not ‘savages’ or ‘animals’ – they’re just people, Americans, deserving of respect. He was calling out ICE and the negativity surrounding immigration, arguing that responding with more hate only makes things worse. His message was all about choosing love over hate, fighting for your community and family with compassion, and finding a better way forward. It was a really moving speech, honestly.

This latest protest uses art by Alcaraz, a well-known cartoonist from Southern California who previously worked on the show “Bordertown.” Fans of Bad Bunny will spot the Puerto Rican straw hat in the artwork, which also clearly criticizes ICE.

As a huge fan of art’s power, I completely agree with Alcaraz when he says it’s always been about challenging hate. He put it perfectly – when things are unfair and become normal, artists have a duty to shine a light on it. Especially when everyone’s watching, like in a big public moment, art – with its colors and energy – can be such a powerful way to show love and stand up against hate, right out in the open.

Conrad believes Bad Bunny consistently highlights the important contributions of immigrants and advocates for celebrating Latino culture and Puerto Rico as an integral part of the country. He anticipates Bad Bunny will use his influence to demonstrate his support for these values and position himself favorably in the long run.

Voices

Essay: Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show will be a history lesson for the ages

As a huge fan of cinema and visual storytelling, I was really excited by Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show, and I’m hoping it does a lot to educate people about Puerto Rico. Historian Jorell A. Meléndez-Badillo actually pointed out that there’s a real lack of understanding about the island and its complex relationship with the United States, and he believes the show could be a powerful way to address that ‘acute ignorance.’ I really hope he’s right!

On Sunday morning, about 50 volunteers with the group Contra-Ice distributed towels to fans arriving for the Patriots and Seahawks game in Santa Clara. While acknowledging it wasn’t as risky as the protests in Minneapolis, the group’s spokesperson, Conrad, believes the action will be highly visible during the game’s broadcast. They hope it will encourage others to take action, in whatever way they feel comfortable.

During the Winter Olympics, athletes like Alysa Liu and Jessie Diggins shared similar feelings, and many artists at the Grammys used their platform to criticize ICE’s actions. While Bad Bunny’s performance will probably be more about celebration than direct protest, the fact that such a prominent Latin artist is performing at a uniquely American event like this sends a powerful message.

It’ll be hard to hide anything with so many cameras and people watching the stadium, Conrad noted. Most Americans believe ICE is going too far with its actions, even causing some who voted for Trump to regret their decision after seeing things like a five-year-old child being kidnapped and held. People feel this isn’t right and are saying it needs to stop.

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2026-02-09 03:01