Who Really Mogged the NFL Halftime Show? | Episode 132

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Brett Cooper Show – Episode 132

Title: Who Really Mogged the NFL Halftime Show?
Date: February 10, 2026
Host: Brett Cooper

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Overview

In this episode, Brett Cooper unpacks the cultural and political fallout from the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show headlined by Bad Bunny. She analyzes the broader generational and societal implications of the NFL inviting a non-English-speaking artist with a global following, the controversy and outrage (predominantly from conservatives), and the response—namely, an alternative “All-American” halftime show from TPUSA featuring Kid Rock. Brett weaves in ongoing debates about American identity, language, assimilation, and how both left and right are increasingly reactionary and politicized in their approach to arts and pop culture.

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Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: Super Bowl Halftime Show Controversy

• Bad Bunny Headliner:
  • Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny performed the halftime show, singing exclusively in Spanish.
  • Outrage from NFL fans and cultural conservatives due to his anti-American statements and refusal to tour in the US because of ICE.
• Internet Response:
  • Social media exploded with debates over the show, with people split over its cultural and political meaning.
  • TPUSA (Turning Point USA) put on an “All-American” halftime show alternative, further fueling division.

“So a singer who routinely craps on America, who will not even tour in the United States because of ice, and who can barely speak English, just did the Super Bowl halftime show. And the Internet is positively divided, and everyone is losing their damn minds.” – Brett Cooper (00:00)

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2. Why Bad Bunny? Understanding the NFL’s Strategy

• Global Audience Focus:
  • The NFL’s selection of Bad Bunny is seen as a calculated business decision to attract an international audience and expand the league’s appeal beyond its “normal” (mostly white, male, American) fanbase.
  • Bad Bunny has been Spotify’s top global artist for four years in a row, outpacing even Taylor Swift.
• TV vs. Stadium Experience:
  • Brett argues the performance was clearly tailored for TV viewers—not stadium attendees—mirroring the NFL’s move to emphasize the broadcast experience over the live one.
  • Fans in the stadium, who paid thousands, could barely see the show, as it was choreography- and camera-centric.

“This was clearly a show that was designed for TV, not for the actual football fans in the stadium… He was not singing out to people. He was singing to the camera. He was singing to the people watching on TV, just watching.” – Brett Cooper (04:00)

• Biggest Ever?
  • Despite backlash, the halftime show drew an all-time record audience of roughly 135.4 million viewers.

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3. Language, Assimilation, and American Identity

• Non-English Performance at “All-American” Event:
  • Many conservatives (and some moderates) bristled at the entire performance being in Spanish.
  • Brett admits she is “normie, white American, conservative Republican” and felt excluded by the language barrier, as did many online.
  • She argues that at America’s biggest sporting event, fans have a right to expect music they can understand—or at least subtitles.

“I will not apologize for Americans wanting to hear music at the country’s biggest all-American sporting event in English. That is very normal.” – Brett Cooper (06:03)

• Subtitles as Compromise:
  • Brett—in a conversation with Piers Morgan—notes it’s entirely normal to provide subtitles at opera and other international events, so why not here?

4. Alternative Reactions & Solutions

• Diverse Perspectives from the Right:
  • Sabrina (Brett’s friend, via TikTok) echoes frustration over the disconnect between the NFL’s core audience and the halftime show's intended demographic:

“It’s not racist to want to understand what is going on during the halftime performance…Justice for Pitbull, who is actually Mr. Worldwide… He sings in both English and Spanish and he absolutely loves this country.” – Sabrina (08:55)

• Several online comments emphasize the importance of assimilation and a shared American baseline (language/heritage), even appreciating Hispanic culture.

• Potential Alternatives:

  • Why not Pitbull (bilingual, more crossover appeal, pro-American)?
  • If inclusion is the goal, some shared understanding is necessary—subtitles at minimum.

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5. Was the Halftime Show “Traditional” or “Degenerate”?

• Media Spin:
  • Some left-leaning outlets, like the Washington Post, argued the halftime show actually celebrated traditional, wholesome, family values (e.g., on-stage marriage, kids present).
  • Conservatives fired back, citing explicit lyrics and risqué dancing as evidence to the contrary.
• Lost in Translation:
  • The American audience was unable to directly interpret lyrics or nuance, as they were entirely in Spanish and, in Bad Bunny’s particular dialect, sometimes hard for even Spanish speakers to follow.
• Actual Lyrics:
  • Brett provides an English translation (14:09), highlighting the superficial messaging about “a lot of girlfriends,” “never married,” and “taking them to the VIP.”

“I would argue that thinking about having a ton of girlfriends, not marrying them and trying to get them into the VIP portion of the club is not conservative values.” – Brett Cooper (14:34)

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6. TPUSA’s “All-American” Alternative: Kid Rock

• Alternative Show:
  • Kid Rock headlined TPUSA’s halftime alternative, which was immediately criticized as equally, if not more, “degenerate” by some due to Kid Rock’s prior explicit lyrics and public image.
• Online Critique:
  • Some, like Anomaly and Allie Beth Stuckey, highlight the hypocrisy of holding Bad Bunny to a different (and sometimes even lower) standard than conservative figures like Kid Rock.

“Can we just cut the toxic empathy for Kid Rock, please? Lol. Like he’s still a degenerate. He’s just your degenerate. All I’m asking for is some modesty.” – Emily (17:49, as relayed by Brett; not her original audio)

• Brett’s Nuanced Take:
  • Acknowledges Kid Rock’s showmanship of “redemption arc” (from explicit song to gospel cover), making his set more about transformation and American/Christian values.

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7. Meta-Analysis: Politics, Art, and Alternatives

• Reactionary Trap:
  • Spencer Klavan (Andrew Klavan’s son) criticized the conservative tendency to create “alternative” culture as inherently defeatist and reactive:

“If you are in the business of alternatives, you are already losing big L from the jump conceptually…what you think of as your artistic taste is actually your politics in aesthetic form.” – Spencer Klavan (paraphrased and cited by Brett at 20:55)

• Need for Genuine Creativity:
  • Brett and others (Katherine Brodsky) urge conservatives to focus on creating genuinely compelling art, not just “the new conservative Disney,” citing past successes from right-leaning creators who did not lead with politics.

“When I see my fellow right wingers making great art that isn’t just marketed through their political politics, I cheer it on because it’s genuine, it’s authentic, it’s smart and you should too.” – Brett Cooper (roughly 22:50)

• Concluding Perspective:
  • You don’t have to love or hate either performance just because of your political identity; it’s okay to admit that both had strengths and weaknesses.

“You didn’t have to hate every aspect of Bad Bunny’s performance. You also didn’t have to love TPUSA’s performance just because of your politics. It can be nuanced.” – Brett Cooper (21:23)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Zubi’s Insight on Manufactured Outrage:

“Sometimes I wonder if people are genuinely outraged by something or just pretending to be to earn social currency within their tribe.” – Zubi (quoted by Brett Cooper, 01:16)

• Viral Player Video:

  • (02:10) NFL players admitting they don’t know who Bad Bunny is or naming a single song, highlighting the core fan base disconnect.
  • “My favorite part of that entire video is that this player does not even know whether Bad Bunny is a boy or a girl. He good music, but I don’t listen.” – Brett Cooper (02:26)

• On NFL’s Business Motivation:

“They were trying to get Bad Bunny’s audience, which is huge, which is also definitely not the normal NFL audience, to come in to turn on their TVs and watch.” – Brett Cooper (03:40)

• Sabrina’s TikTok Critique:

“Let’s not act like this wasn’t annoying for everyone else. Justice for Pitbull, who is actually Mr. Worldwide… He sings in both English and Spanish and he absolutely loves this country.” – Sabrina (09:16)

• On Not Understanding Lyrics:

“His message was about inclusion, but if I don’t understand it, how would I know? Which is such an amazing point.” – TikTok Comment (07:44, relayed by Brett)

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Key Timestamps

• 00:00–02:10 – Brett lays out the controversy; NFL players can’t name a Bad Bunny song
• 03:00–06:00 – Discussion shifts to NFL motives, expanding audience, business side
• 06:00–09:38 – Language, assimilation, and what’s "normal" for Americans at the Super Bowl
• 09:38–11:45 – Sabrina's TikTok and audience responses; Pitbull as “missed opportunity”
• 12:50–14:34 – Debate over the family values vs. explicit nature of the performance; translation of song lyrics
• 15:56–17:49 – Conservative alternative show; hypocrisy and reactionary art
• 20:55–22:50 – Meta-commentary on culture war, creativity, and the problem with “alternatives”
• 21:23–22:50 – Conclusion: Nuance is possible; don’t force yourself into love/hate based on party lines

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Tone and Conclusion

Brett’s delivery is sarcastic, self-aware, and at times exasperated by both sides of the debate. She acknowledges her own biases but makes an earnest plea for nuance—arguing it's possible to critique the NFL’s decisions, decry cultural displacement, and still appreciate genuine creativity, regardless of politics. The episode’s main takeaway: cultural moments like the Super Bowl halftime show reveal shifting American values, but much of the online outrage is performative and reactionary—on both sides.

“It is not bigoted to want to hear and understand music in your own language when it is performed in your country.” – Brett Cooper (final point)

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For listeners seeking a thoughtful, spirited, and nonpartisan breakdown of a polarizing cultural moment, this episode delivers both critique and context, encouraging reflection over reaction.

Transcript

[Brett Cooper]

So a singer who routinely craps on America, who will not even tour in the United States because of ice, and who can barely speak English, just did the super bowl halftime show. And the Internet is positively divided, and everyone is losing their damn minds. And on top of that, this was such a controversial and anticipated halftime performance that TPUSA even put on an alternative halftime show. And so now it's not just about the NFL or Bad Bunny. It's about both of them. People online are debating which show was more conservative and had more traditional values, and whether Bad Bunny's performance was representative of or all of the Americas. And I'm just trying to figure out what it all means, because none of it was in English. But that was kind of the whole point, and I will explain why. But before we do, if you want behind the scenes content or ad free episodes, farm vlogs, travel vlogs, all of that sort of thing, all of that is over on my subscription platform, cooperconfidential.com, go check it out. Hold on. I forgot my coffee. I can't not have my coffee if I'm gonna rant about Bad Bunny. Now I don't even know where to put it. Now we can go. All right, now that all of that is out of the way, let's get down to brass tacks. Now, first of all, I want to offer you, just before we dive into things, before I get all ranty and my blood pressure starts to rise, I want to offer you and myself this tweet from my friend Zubi. And he said sometimes I wonder if people are genuinely outraged by something or just pretending to be to earn social currency within their tribe. And I wanted to read that to you because while there were certainly things to critique about Bad Bunny and this entire snafu and the whole thing is just, like, rife with controversy, it also, I want to remind you guys, is like, every single year with a halftime show. The outrage machine is ready to go, whether it's Rihanna or Bad Bunny or Kendrick Lamar. Meanwhile, the left in Hollywood is, like, locked and loaded, ready to defend and attack conservatives like it happens every single year. Honestly, I'm a bit tired of it. So let's just remember that none of this is new as we dive in and we talk about everything that has transpired with our friend Benito, AKA Bad Bunny. All right, anyway, I wanna say that it is very easy for me as, like, a normie, white American, conservative Republican, whatever you wanna say, to be like, who even is Bad Bunny? Nobody listens to Bad Bu. When even Actual NFL players in the super bowl did not even know who he was. Just watch. This is probably my favorite video to come out of this entire controversy.

[NFL Player 1]

Favorite Bad Bunny song.

[NFL Player 2]

You know, nobody got one.

[NFL Player 1]

Favorite Bad Bunny song?

[Brett Cooper]

I don't know no Bad Bunny songs.

[NFL Player 1]

Favorite Bad Bunny song?

[Brett Cooper]

I have no idea.

[NFL Player 1]

Favorite Bad Bunny song?

[Brett Cooper]

Don't know. I don't have one either.

[NFL Player 1]

Favorite Bad Bunny song.

[Brett Cooper]

I don't listen to Bad Bunny like that, but she got some good stuff.

[NFL Player 1]

What is your favorite Bad Bunny song?

[Brett Cooper]

Alright, now I'm gonna cut it right there because my favorite part of that entire video is that this player does not even know whether Bad Bunny is a boy or a girl. He good music, but I don't listen. Like they have no clue. No matter how funny that is and how relevant it feels to maybe you and me. We have to admit, unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, that Bad Bunny was still the top Spotify global artist in 2020, in 2021, in 2022, and again this year in 2025. And yes, that means that he beat out Taylor Swift. So when people are arguing over why the NFL and Jay Z, who runs the music for the super bowl, why they would pick Bad Bunny to do the halftime performance, I think we need to remember that fact. Because in my opin, more than just a political one, they were trying to get Bad Buddy's audience, which is huge, which is also definitely not the normal NFL audience, to come in to turn on their TVs and watch. And all of this is part of the NFL's push to become more international. This is not the first thing they have done. They're, you know, having teams play all of these football games overseas. You can love that or hate it. Most NFL fans that I know do hate it. But that is the reality of what the NFL is currently trying to do in terms of their business. And the thing is, I'm sure that they felt confident in doing this because they knew that everyone would watch the big game either way. Big fans, no matter, no matter how conservative or right wing, they're not boycotting it. They want to watch the Super Bowl. And if you don't even watch the halftime show, what do they care? Because they still had his audience tuning in. And clearly this was a good strategy because I'm sorry to break it to everyone who did not want Bad Bunny, but allegedly this was the most watched halftime show in history. Apparently they had 135.4 million viewers, biggest one in history. So the point is, all of the conservative outrage, it did not make a Dentist in the Bad Bunny fandom, which is who they wanted. They wanted that fandom to tune in and watch again. A very pointed business decision based on what we know their goals to be. And this whole rationale feels even more obvious to me because this was clearly a show that was designed for tv, not for the actual football fans in the stadium. And obviously, every year, more people are watching the super bowl at home versus actually being in the stadium with the game. But usually the performers are still on a stage. They're in the middle of the field, and they're performing for the audience. You know, you have, like, Rihanna flying in, announcing her pregnancy, like, flying over all the people in the stadium. You, Kendrick Lamar dancing around. You can, like, actually watch the performers from your seats. But not this year. Like, Bad Bunny was not performing for the NFL or their audience. He was performing for his. And with his show, which, I might add, I thought was objectively very cool looking and creative and kind of seemed like this whole musical thing, which was fun. Bad Bunny was hiding behind people in grass costumes. He was, like, running in and out of buildings. He was singing down behind grass into a camera the entire time. He was not singing out to people. He was singing to the camera. He was singing to the people watching on tv, just watching. So the caption reads, pov. You're watching Bad Bunny's halftime performance from the stands. So you can see these are all people in grass costumes. They all walked in. There are people running throughout the whole stage. It's like a fricking corn maze. There's this building here where he's going in and out of. He's changing costumes. And there was, like, one part of the performance where he was up on, like, electrical posts, which, by the way, reminded me very much of Nashville's electrical system, which is so antiquated. That's why the entire grid went down during the ice storm. Anyway, that's a total aside there. That was the only time when people in the stands could actually see him. Like, he was hanging on this big post. The other times he was running in the grass, he was singing again, down into the ground, into a camera. The cheapest ticket to go to the super bowl was around $3,200. Like, if I was in the audience, I would be pissed. If I spent that much money or if I spent more, because some people are paying, like, $30,000 to actually be there in person, I would be pissed that I can't actually see anything. But, hey, again, maybe they were banking on the NFL fans not caring because, again, it wasn't for them. It was for Bad Bunny and his audience. Somebody commented and said it wasn't for the stadium audience. And being in Spanish, it really wasn't for the US Audience at large. Boom. All right, so now that we have established that fact, I think we can talk about people's reactions online. And while yes, Bad Bunny is obviously very political, especially right now, the NFL fan base is mostly made up of white men. So I do not think that it is outrageous or bigoted or political in any way for these fans to maybe hope for a halftime show that is tailored for them, because they are the ones paying the bills for the NFL and showing up every single week for months on end to watch these games. And speaking of this, if you guys didn't see I filmed an episode of Piers Morgan yesterday. I'm filming it right after. I actually just did that interview. I'm not sure when it's coming out. Either it came out today when this episode was coming out or came out yesterday. Regardless, I was talking with Piers Morgan yesterday, and we were kind of debating this whole thing with Bad Bunny and whether it was okay for people to want to hear him sing in English. And I will reiterate what I said to Pierce in case you didn't see it, which is that I will not apologize for Americans wanting to hear music at the country's biggest all American sporting event in English. That is very normal. Like, I don't care if there are millions of people who speak Spanish in our country. You should assimilate. You should also speak English. Again, this is an all American sport. I think it's normal for the white American men to want to hear music in English and to take it further or to try to find some kind of compromise or common ground. If Bad Bunny was going to perform and if he was going to be singing entirely in Spanish, they should have at least had subtitles on the screen so we could at least all be on the same page. And actually, in that same interview with Piers that came up, and he brought up Pavardi, the Italian opera singer, and honestly, it's kind of funny. In the interview, I was like, I have no idea who you're talking about. Like, I forgot him in that moment. But Piers was like, you wouldn't be saying this about him. You wouldn't be saying you couldn't understand, you know, his amazing opera. You wouldn't need subtitles for him. But actually, we do when you go to the opera. When I was in Budapest doing Pendragon and I went to the Hungarian Opera house. They literally have little iPads on the back of seats that caption the entire thing. So you actually understand what the opera singers are saying. They have subtitles. That is normal. It is not just about Bad Bunny. And this is not bigotry. It's about audiences wanting to be on the same page and wanting Americans to actually understand what is being sung at their halftime show. And no, the point I will also make is that it's not just conservative influencers saying this. I saw a TikTok of a guy saying that he was annoyed that he couldn't understand anything so he turned it off. He just didn't even care about watching it. His TikTok had millions of views. It had almost 4,500,000 likes. And the comments were flooded with people agreeing. Like one person said, it has nothing to do with him being brown. I don't understand the words. A girl said his message was about inclusion, but if I don't understand it, how would I know? Which is such an amazing point. It's like, oh, it was so wonderful, so inclusive. I would have no idea because I can't understand it Then my personal favorite comment on this TikTok was this girl who said, were we supposed to press 1 for English? Like welcome to modern America. I guess that is the state of our modern country. Now. On this note, my friend Sabrina made some great points in a TikTok reel that she posted and she actually offered an alternative if the NFL really wanted to get a more diverse fan base to watch. Just listen.

[Sabrina]

Now that the super bowl is over, can we stop pretending like everyone is a die hard Bad Bunny fan and Puerto Rico is the 51st state. The NFL's fan base is anywhere between 70 to 80% Caucasian. If you're the largest customer base of the NFL, it's not racist to want to understand what is going on during the halftime performance. Like the five genuine Bad Bunny fans that I know.

[Brett Cooper]

Happy for you.

[Sabrina]

But let's not act like this wasn't annoying for everyone else. Lastly, this is a hill I will die on. Justice for Pitbull, who is actually Mr. Worldwide. Mr. 305, please explain to me NFL, why was Pitbull not the performer back in 2020 when you guys held it in Miami? He is literally Mr. 305. Not to mention he has sold more records in the US than Bad Bunny. He sings in both English and Spanish and he absolutely loves this country.

[Brett Cooper]

I mean, I could not have said it better myself. Pitbull is a fantastic alternative. My producer was even posting about that saying like why wasn't it Pitbull? But no, obviously it's the NFL and couldn't just be somebody who would bring in a larger, more international, diverse audience. It needed to be that, but also be the correct cookie cutter political statement. Obviously. Now don't worry, we will get to the politics a little later in that angle. But continuing down this track, somebody commented and said perfectly said Sabrina. As a first generation American I am proud of Hispanic culture. However, I believe that when we represent America on a big stage such as the super bowl, there should still be a shared American baseline, assimilation and heritage. You don't have to cancel each other out. Having somebody perform not speaking English just isn't American. Exactly. And if there had been subtitles at the very least we wouldn't be sitting here days later debating the values that Bad Bunny was promoting on his show because we would actually know. Now thankfully we don't have to wonder what PureTalk's values are. And thankfully their customer service team speaks English. And do you guys know what Pure Talk's favorite holiday is? It's President's Day. Because they believe that Cellar Wireless service right here in the US should only cost you a Jackson and a Lincoln for just $25 a month. Pure Talk gives you unlimited talk text and plenty of data. Now compare that to the alternatives Big Wireless. They would rather celebrate Benjamin Franklin Day so that they can charge your of dollars every month. You deserve better. Peertalk is a veteran owned American wireless company who supports our veterans and invests in a US Only customer service team so that when you call you're talking to somebody right here at home and I know you're going to ask. And peertalk uses the same towers as the Big carrier so you can enjoy superior 5G coverage without the inflated price. It's just $25 a month for talk text and plenty of data. No contract, no cancellation fees. What are you waiting for? Just go to peertalk.com cooper and you will get 50% off your first month of my phone carrier. Again that is peertalk.com cooper to make the switch to peertalk today. Now back to the story and the debates over Bad Bunny's values. Immediately after the performance was over in the left wing media and for some people on the right they were posting and saying like this should be something that conservatives are excited about. This should be seen as a celebration of traditional values. Like he had a couple actually get married. On screen there was a little boy who was supposedly representing Baby Bad Bunny and how you should follow your dreams. Like it was wholesome it was family friendly. For example, Washington Post did their analysis and they said in general, Bad Bunny super bowl halftime show had the kind of wholesome, some traditional family values that would have fit right in with some of the more sentimental commercials that appeared during the game. And so their argument is that this kind of was conservative. It was wholesome and traditional, and we should all shut up. But then on the flip side, you have conservatives online pushing back and saying, okay, well, maybe it was cool creatively. Yes, there was a family feature, there was a wedding, but look at his lyrics. Look what he was actually singing. And then they post this specific screenshot from one of his songs. I will put it here on the screen for you to peruse. But no, my friends, I will not be reading any of that out loud to you because I will not be on camera saying any of those words. So for people clipping my show, you are not in luck today. And if you are on Spotify, guys, just use your imagination and just know. It is incredibly lewd. It is incredibly sexual and completely uncreative. However, going from there, according to Spanish speakers online, actually, Bad Bunny didn't perform that song. And his other more explicit songs that he did perform were toned down and they were adapted for tv. Like Giancarlo Sopra said, look, I'm not a fan of Bad Bunny's music, but this isn't what he sang last night. There are 50 million Spanish speakers in this country and about 600 million across the world. Influencer accounts are making the rest of us look like by getting very basic things like this wrong. And guys, therein lies the problem, because we don't even know what we're arguing about or what is true because it wasn't in English. It was an American performance that was not in English. Nobody knows what is going on. It is the biggest performance for Americans every single year and we have no idea what the damn performer said. Now, thankfully, others online can translate, even though the NFL did not. And according to them, no, it really wasn't family friendly. Like, sure, there was cute kids, sure, a couple got married, but you also had men grinding on each other behind a car door. You had women scantily clothed with twerking on men. We saw all of that with our own eyes. And apparently what he sang about wasn't much better. One person, Daniel, posted and said, do you guys realize that this entire halftime show promoted Puerto Rican independence, hookup culture, and framed America as the colonial oppressor of Hawaii? It was shameful. This is why you gotta know Spanish before saying this, I don't need. I don't want to have to know Spanish to understand what is being sung about. That's the problem. Anyway, to make matters even worse, apparently Bad Bunny's Spanish isn't even easily understandable, even for Spanish speakers. Another person said native Spanish speaker here complaining about Bad Bunny singing in Spanish sense. If he actually sang in Spanish, Bad Bunny sings in some retarded, mumbled bastardization of the language that he made up. Most Spanish speakers need a translator too. Great. Like this is all. It just keeps getting worse and more comical. But at least we have one of his songs broken down in English. So in case you're confused, let's just listen here.

[NFL Player 2]

The English version Hey so my auntie asked me why I got so many girlfriends Hey a lot of girlfriends Today I got one and tomorrow I got another one But I never married yo My auntie asked me why I got so many girlfriends Hey a lot of girlfriends Today I got one and tomorrow got another one Man, I think I want to take them all to the vip. To the vip.

[Brett Cooper]

Great. Profound. So profound. And no, I would argue that thinking about having a ton of girlfriends, not marrying them and trying to get them into the VIP portion of the club is not conservative values. But so glad they're all going to vip. The least he could do is at least hook them up with a good Rancher steak after all of that. Now, as America turns 250 years old this year, it is worth remembering the people who truly built this country. The ones who woke up before the sun season after season, without applause. And obviously, that is America's ranchers. For generations, ranchers have worked tirelessly to feed this nation through droughts and wars and recessions, changing markets. And that legacy is exactly what Good Ranchers was built on. Every cut of meat that you get through, Good Ranchers is raised on local American farms. And ranchers, from sourcing to packaging to fulfillment, everything happens right here in the U.S. in fact, their customer service team is in house. And with every order on top of all that, a portion of profits is donated to the Paralyzed Veterans of America. And so, as we celebrate American heritage this year, Good Ranchers truly sits at the heart of that story, supporting these ranchers every single step of the way and supporting that agricultural economy. And by becoming a subscriber, you can do that too. You will get incredible American raised meat delivered to your door every month, plus $25 off every box, free shipping, and a free bonus gift for Life. So visit goodranchers.com today. Subscribe to any box of their American meat. Save up to $500 a year plus you will get an extra $25 order if you use code Brett at checkout. Again that is good. Ranchers.com now that you have steak guys, all you need is a quality education and GCU has you covered.

[Sabrina]

Now.

[Brett Cooper]

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It is private, it's Christian, and it's affordable. Again, visit gcu Edu myoffer to learn more today. All right, now back to the story. What makes this whole argument over values and morality even more hilarious is that Kid Rock headlined the TPUSA Alternative All American halftime show and people online understandably were very quick to push back on conservatives and say, well, you're complaining about all of this, but what do you think about Kid Rock and his whole torrid history? But Kid Rock opening with one of his most lewd songs, Anomaly, the streamer he posted and he said it's hilarious that the conservative alternative to Bad Bunny was Kid Rock rapping about porno meth, crackheads and gang violence and hookers. These are the lyrics to the first song that he performed. Again, I will not be reading you those lyrics. And then this was also a great example. Allie Beth Stuckey said this about Bad Bunn. She posted and she said in response to the Washington Post tweet that we read, she said almost every single song was about degenerate sex with randos. But okay, but then she posted something positive about Kid Rock and the TPUSA performance and celebrating sharing the gospel. To which somebody responded and said, can we just cut the toxic empathy for Kid Rock, please? Lol. Like he's still a degenerate. He's just your degenerate. All I'm asking for is some modesty. And I do love that. Like Kid Rock is conservatives degenerate. Like they love him, but he is still kind of a degenerate. And I'm split here because I do get what Emily is saying, what Anomaly was saying. But I also understand why Ali Beth was celebrating Kid Rock's performance. And now we can get into that, because I do think it is often ridiculous for some of the most staunch conservatives to open their arms to any person who says a relatively based statement while simultaneously still chastising people on the left for doing the exact same thing. But what Anomaly and others are saying isn't totally inaccurate. And I know that I just said that when I had been on record acknowledging that the right needs to fight back against Cancel Culture and should be welcoming of people coming in, but you can welcome people with a healthy dose of skepticism and while not ignoring or lying about their degeneracy or the things that they continue doing even if they're saying based things anyway. So yes, what I'm trying to say here is that yes, Kid Rock did open with that song, and yes, he's kind of degenerate, but it was part of a broader story. By starting with that song with the lyrics that I will not read, he showed where he came from and where he used to be as a younger man. And then in the show it transitioned into this acoustic hymnal. And then he came on stage as himself, not Kid Rock, but Robert Richie. And he sang a cover of Cody Johnson's song Till youl Can't. And he added a verse at the end about making sure that you create a relationship with God, because one day it might be too late. So you need to do that until you can't. There was a purpose for him starting with that song. It showed redemption. It showed him coming to more traditional values. And the great thing is with Kid Rock, we could all understand it because it was in English. So thankfully, we can argue for it. We can all actually be on the same page. Now. I have also seen people commenting on my tweets and saying like, what did you think of the TV USA show? And if I actually watched it or if I actually watched Bad Bunny, like I posted a thing about Bad Bunny. And they were like, we, I can't believe you watched it. And I posted something on tv, o' say? And they're like, I can't believe you watched that. Yes, I watched both. We had one on tv, we had the other streaming on our laptop. And my take was that I am just glad that There was something for everyone. Like if you were angry about Bad Bunny, if you wanted to boycott it, we had an alternative which was great. It had great singers, it had great storytelling. It was wonderful. And to top it all off, if you didn't want any music, you could change the channel and you could watch the Puppy Bowl. Like there were so many options in the free market. Did SP speak in a lot of ways, because yes, Bad Bunny broke records, but so did tpusa, so did the alternative. I actually think that now it is one of the top live streams ever on YouTube. That says a lot. It showed that some people wanted something else, something more politically right wing country music, whatever it may be, they had an alternative. However, what I will not do is sit here and just say that the TBSA show was the greatest piece of art I have ever seen just because it aligned more with my political values. Because at the end of the day, it was still Kid Rock. It was still reactionary, per usual. Because that's just how it works in right wing politics. In fact, even Spencer Clavin, who is Andrew Clavin's so he acknowledged this to many jeers on social media in his comment section. And he was tweeting about Bad Bunny. And he said, meanwhile, the conservative alternative halftime show, however good it may be, is in its very essence an exemplar of all that is wrong with the right when it comes to the arts. If you are in the business of alternatives, you are already losing big L from the jump conceptually. If you can't look at that Bad Bunny halftime show and recognize its success independent of its political utility, then I regret to inform you that what you think of as your artistic taste is actually your politic politics in aesthetic form. Exactly. I think that Spencer put that really well. And so if you have also been bombarded by the outrage online, if the noise has gotten very loud and you haven't really known what to think, cause everybody is so angry, which is where I've kind of been sitting. I'm here to tell you that you didn't have to hate every aspect of Bad Bunny's performance. You also didn't have to love T. Posa's performance just because of your politics. It can be nuanced. You can appreciate both for what they are and listen, I agree with being tired of the reactionary alternatives. And I will say it here first before you comment, like I know I have been a of part. Those are things that I have promoted. So I'm sorry if I played a role in exhausting you I also exhausted myself. We'll try to move on from that, but I have seen a lot of people online sharing that sentiment. Katherine Brodsky on X made a great post breaking all of this down. I thought that it was very nuanced and kind. And she said, it's not as if conservatives are incapable of making art. Clint Eastwood, David Mamet, John Milius, Salvador Dali are some great names of people who made really good art. In fact, there are many more who don't fit conveniently into one political box, and some who keep their more conservative beliefs private. But the MAGA movement as a whole is utterly reactionary. I mean, they organized their own show just because they didn't like Bad Bunny. Come on. As such, their attempts at culture are hyper political. And then she goes on and she says that conservatives do have a way into culture. One way is through high quality biblical stories. Think Prince of Egypt and Noah and the Ten Commandments, It's a Wonderful Life, the Chronicles of Narnia series, the lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Bruce Almighty, et cetera. A lot of the things that Angel Studios is doing that I promote. That's why I promote them. And then she goes on and she says the other is through a rebellious counterculture strike, stories something like David Mamet or Tarantino can make something the more freewheeling type of artists might want to make. But right wingers are doing what they're upset with the left for doing. Hyper focusing on political views, which destroys cinema. All cinema politics has always been a part of creative storytelling. But when it becomes the story instead of the subtext that the audience stumbles across, you've lost the plot, literally. The things that people get upset about as being woke is just really bad storytelling. Cinema has always had sub moral positions, as it should. It was just, just done. Well, reactionary seems to work in podcasts and news segments. Hello. But not so much elsewhere, not in art. And I think all of us, even if this might be the first time that you're thinking of this, I think we all probably know that it doesn't really work because all of these alternative projects always have to be branded as the alternative or the conservative XYZ or the new Disney, whatever it is. And often, unfortunately, it's as cringy as blue sky. Like we all dunked on that. We all dunk on Kamala trying to be like as hip and cool as Team Trump on TikTok. We're doing the same thing here. And so when I see my fellow right wingers making great art that isn't just marketed through their political politics. I cheer it on because it's genuine, it's authentic, it's smart and you should too. Like that is where we should put our focus and what we should put our money behind, in my opinion. Anyway, I feel like that was kind of a side rant there, but it was inspired by the discourse about the alternative halftime show anyway. It felt relevant, but that's just something that I've been thinking a lot about, especially over the last couple of years. But the point is, thank goodness that amidst all of this there was something for everyone. Because while this decision made Sense for the NFL's goal for their goals, it was utterly ridiculous in terms of their relationship with the core fans who make them all of their money and the Americans who genuinely love the sport and love our country. And no, for the final time, it is not bigoted to want to hear and understand music in your own language when it is performed in your country. So we will end it with that.