Bad Bunny just pulled off one of the most politically charged Super Bowl halftime shows in recent memory—and millions of viewers thought they witnessed a direct middle finger to ICE.
During a tender moment in Sunday’s halftime extravaganza, the Puerto Rican rapper placed his hand on a young boy’s head and handed him a Grammy trophy. Eagle-eyed fans immediately became convinced the child was Liam Conejo Ramos, the five-year-old who was detained by ICE agents alongside his father in Minneapolis on January 20. The image of that boy being taken away had become a symbol of Trump’s aggressive deportation crackdown.
THE DETAILS: Social media exploded with praise for what appeared to be a stunning act of defiance on America’s biggest stage. “Wait hold up… Did Bad Bunny just give his Grammy to Liam Conejo Ramos the poor kid who was kidnapped by ICE?” one viewer wrote on X. “If so, amazing.” Another declared: “I’m gonna assume the little boy given the Grammy was Liam Conejo Ramos. If he is, Bad Bunny just became a hero for me.”
Adding fuel to the speculation: a sign reading “Conejo” appeared during the performance moments before the child came into view. (Of course, “conejo” also means “bunny rabbit” in Spanish—it’s literally the artist’s name.)
BUT BUT BUT: Here’s the thing—it wasn’t actually Liam. Huffington Post reporter Philip Lewis later identified the boy as Lincoln Fox, a five-year-old child actor from Costa Mesa, California. When fans flooded Lincoln’s Instagram asking if he was playing Liam Ramos, the kid replied directly: “Nope, it’s me!”
The child was reportedly playing a young Bad Bunny, dressed in similar clothing to the rapper’s childhood photos. Lincoln’s parents are Argentinian and Egyptian, and he lives in Southern California with his baby sister.
WHY IT MATTERS: Whether intentional or not, the moment worked. Viewers read it as solidarity with immigrant families being torn apart by ICE. One commenter offered this interpretation: “That environment would be too overwhelming for a 5yo just severely traumatized. This was the safer and ethical choice. It made the point too.”
And the political context was impossible to ignore. Bad Bunny had just shouted “ICE Out” during his Grammy acceptance speech the week before. Protesters demonstrated against ICE outside the stadium before his performance. President Trump skipped the Super Bowl entirely over Bad Bunny’s involvement, and his press secretary confirmed the Mar-a-Lago watch party would tune into Kid Rock’s rival Turning Point USA halftime show instead.
So even if Lincoln Fox was just playing mini-Bad Bunny, the symbolism landed exactly where it needed to. As another viewer put it: “When I saw that scene, I took it mean any Latino child sitting at home watching & knowing it could be them.”
Sometimes the message transcends the messenger—even when it’s a five-year-old from Costa Mesa.
THE SPECTACLE: The entire 13-minute performance was a defiant celebration of Puerto Rico—and a gut-punch delivered at the exact moment Trump’s deportation machine was ripping Latino families apart. The field was transformed into Puerto Rico’s sugarcane fields, surrounded by jíbaros in pavas (rural farmers in traditional straw hats), viejitos playing dominos, and a piragua stand selling shaved ice.
Then Ricky Martin sat in front of a plantain tree and performed “Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawaii”—Bad Bunny’s rallying cry against neocolonialism in Puerto Rico. Behind him, performers climbed power poles that exploded. The symbolism? Puerto Rico’s chronic blackouts and failing power grid—a crisis that left thousands without electricity just days before the Super Bowl.
Bad Bunny then launched into “El Apagón” (“The Blackout”), his 2022 anthem about Hurricane Maria’s aftermath and the island’s ongoing infrastructure collapse, while holding a Puerto Rican flag in red, white and baby blue—the colors of the independence movement.
OF COURSE there was also a real wedding. Not a performance—an actual legal marriage ceremony. The couple had invited Bad Bunny to their wedding, but he flipped the script: come get married during my halftime show instead. He served as their witness and signed the marriage certificate. There was a real cake.
Lady Gaga showed up to perform “Die With a Smile.” Cardi B, Jessica Alba, Pedro Pascal, and Karol G partied at his “marquesina” (house party). The whole thing was performed entirely in Spanish on America’s biggest stage.
And Trump—predictably—lost it, calling the performance inappropriate for young children.
Sir, you’re not one to talk.
BOTTOM LINE: Bad Bunny ended by spiking a football with “Together we are America” written on it, then listing countries across the Americas—Chile, Argentina, Brazil, the United States, Canada—before declaring in Spanish: “My homeland, Puerto Rico, we are still here.”
A screen behind him read: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”
Read more: Obama shades MAGA after Bad Bunny’s halftime show