Less than two hours before it is set to air, MAGA’s Super Bowl halftime show has hit a major snag.
Today, Turning Point USA, the conservative organization cofounded by the late political activist Charlie Kirk, announced that its alternate halftime show will not stream on Elon Musk’s X platform.
“UPDATE: Due to licensing restrictions, we are unable to stream The All-American Halftime Show on X,” the organization said of its MAGA alternative to Bad Bunny’s main event.
Instead, the Kid Rock-led show will stream exclusively on the organization’s YouTube channel, concurrent with the live Super Bowl broadcast.
“Even Elon doesn’t want to listen to Kid Rock!” California Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office X account tweeted in response.
The MAGA halftime show was first announced in October, after Puerto Rican musician Bad Bunny, 31, was announced as the Super Bowl halftime show headliner. Conservatives looking to boycott the main halftime show will be treated to a concert by Kid Rock, Lee Brice, Brantley Gilbert, and Gabby Berrett.
Kid Rock, 55, has been a recurring fixture of the Trump administration, performing at the final night of the 2024 RNC. The musician, who has garnered backlash for his resurfaced predatory lyrics, will also headline the MAGA-coded “Rock the Country” tour later this year.
Turning Point’s alternate halftime show is serving as a de facto boycott of a musician MAGA critics consider un-American.
Puerto Rican-born Bad Bunny, whose full name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, angered conservatives with his music, which is almost entirely in Spanish, and with his fashion, which occasionally includes dresses.
Bad Bunny further enraged MAGA critics with his anti-ICE acceptance speech at last Sunday’s Grammy Awards.
“Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say, ‘ICE OUT,’” the singer said while accepting the award for Best Música Urbana album. “We’re not savage. We’re not animals. We’re not aliens. We are humans. And we are Americans.”
The mid-game concert is one of the most viewed concerts in the world each year, with last year’s Kendrick Lamar show attracting 133.5 million viewers.
This year’s performance has attracted enormous media attention. It remains unclear how the two performances will compare in viewership.
