Fact Check: Did Bad Bunny reveal his Super Bowl performance was shortened due to death threats?
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA: Bad Bunny headlined the Super Bowl LX Halftime Show on Sunday, February 8, and marked a historic moment as he became the first artist to perform a halftime show primarily in Spanish.
Following his performance, a video of a supposed interview with the Puerto Rican musician circulated on social media, where he supposedly claimed his performance was shorter due to security concerns. But is there any truth to this? Let us find out below.
Claim: Bad Bunny's performance was shorter due to security concerns
The video was primarily shared on TikTok, where Bad Bunny supposedly claimed that his performance was shorter than normal due to security concerns and added that he had worn a bulletproof vest during the show.
Bad Bunny's show was widely praised for its high-energy spectacle, cultural depth, and uplifting message — ending with 'the only thing more powerful than hate is love' and 'Together, we are America'. Several celebrities reacted positively, as many called it joyous and unifying.
However, though his performance was celebrated for inclusivity and Latino representation, it was also criticized by some for being 'anti-American', non-English dominant, or 'disgusting' due to themes/dancing, though it complied with broadcast standards.
Moreover, post-show, Bad Bunny saw massive streaming surges on Apple Music, and the YouTube upload quickly hit tens of millions of views.
Fact Check: False, the video was AI-generated
The claims in the viral clip are false, as the video was generated using artificial intelligence.
The rumor that Bad Bunny wore a bulletproof vest during his Super Bowl performance spread widely online in the days after the event. If it were true, an interview where he admitted to wearing one would have been widely reported by reliable media outlets.
Searches on Bing, DuckDuckGo, Google, and Yahoo also didn't return results for such reports.
Moreover, the voice in the video circulating online was different when compared to other clips of Bad Bunny speaking English, his second language.
Interestingly, Bad Bunny occasionally makes minor grammatical errors when speaking his second language. However, in the video, the English was grammatically perfect and was delivered with an almost robotic cadence.
Furthermore, the speech in the viral video is also unnaturally flat, lacking the natural variations in inflection that characterize real human voices. It is a clear sign of AI-generated audio.
The TikTok user who shared the fake clip has also shared other AI-generated content in the past, including a fabricated video of actor Macaulay Culkin talking about the death of actor Catherine O'Hara.
