Bad Bunny is facing backlash for choosing Lady Gaga to perform as a surprise guest at the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show, and the criticism is surrounding her ethnicity.
Interest in Gaga’s ethnicity spiked after she made a surprise appearance at Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show on February 8, 2026, where she sang a Latin version of her song “Die With a Smile” from her 2025 album, Mayhem. (The song was originally a duet with Bruno Mars, who did not perform with her.)
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Given that Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance included guest appearances from many Latine celebrities—such as Ricky Martin, Jessica Alba, Cardi B, Karol G, and Pedro Pascal—many wondered why Gaga performed if she wasn’t of Latine descent.
“wtf does Lady wtf does Lady Gaga have to do with Hispanic/Latin Culture ?!?!? Love you Benito but why?????Gaga have to do with Hispanic/Latin Culture ?!?!? Love you Benito but why?????” one user tweeted.
Another user wrote, “I’m so motherfucking pissed that lady Gaga performed someone not Latina during this celebration of Latin culture and then cardi b was literally on stage and they didn’t do I Like It????? Tf #SuperBowl #badbunny.” One more user tweeted, “Lady Gaga instead of the Latina baddies like Anitta.” Another wrote, “let’s talk about Lady Gaga’s irrelevance in the performance? she’s not Latina and didn’t add anything at all, super forced.”
Others, however, poked fun at Gaga’s appearance during Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance. “that’s my Latina sister Lady Guadalupe Hernandez Gagita yall 😭😭😭❤️,” one user tweeted. Another wrote, “Lady Gaga woke up today and said I DIDN’T TO BE BORN LATINA, NOMAS TUVE SUERTE 💋 Bad Bunny I don’t understand you but thanks.”
Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, is Puerto Rican and was born in Bayamón and raised in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. Martin is also Puerto Rican and was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Cardi B is Afro-Caribbean. Her father is Dominican while her mother is Trinidadian. Karol G is Colombian and born in Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia. Alba is Mexican-American. Her father is of Mexican descent, while her mother has a European background.
Lady Gaga – Super Bowl
What’s Lady Gaga’s ethnicity?
Lady Gaga is of Italian ancestry and has spoken about her ethnicity many times, especially while promoting her 2021 movie, House of Gucci, in which she played Patrizia Reggiani, an Italian criminal and the ex-wife of Maurizio Gucci.
“I wish to thank all of Italy for cheering me on while I film this movie—I hug & kiss you, tell you I believe in you prayers to my place of origin—a country built on the promise of hard work & family. I hope I made you proud. I’m proud to be Italian,” she tweeted at the time.
Gaga’s family from her father’s side come from the town of Naso in the province of Messina, Sicily. Both of Gaga’s parents, mother Cynthia Louise Bissettt and father Joseph Germanotta, are Italian, though they were also born in the United States. Gaga, for her part, was born in the Lenox Hill neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. “I am an Italian woman from New York, daughter of a strong family, who taught me to never give up,” Gaga said at a past ELLE Women in Hollywood event.
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