For a show that lasts roughly 13 minutes, the Super Bowl half-time performance has fuelled decades of controversy.
Sometimes the spark comes from a single moment — as it did when Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake’s infamous “wardrobe malfunction” triggered a broadcast reckoning.
At other times, it arrives through imagery and intent, as seen in Jennifer Lopez’s 2020 caged children staging, which critiqued US immigration policies towards children at the US-Mexico border, as well as in Kendrick Lamar’s carefully layered Black storytelling, delivered as Donald Trump watched from his seat inside the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.
Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show
The half-time show magnifies everything — fashion choices, choreography, symbolism — and invites interpretation on a scale few artists ever experience.
That history forms the backdrop as Bad Bunny prepares to take the half-time stage, a moment that places Latin identity at the centre of America’s most-watched television event.Â
The conversation building around his performance extends beyond music, touching on language, culture and how much room one of the world’s biggest stars will have for symbolism and social commentary — including past critiques of Trump — within a show long shaped by tight NFL oversight.
Here is a look at some of the most talked-about half-time moments.
Timberlake and Jackson’s ‘wardrobe malfunction’
The most enduring half-time controversy unfolded during the 2004 Super Bowl in Houston, when Jackson performed alongside Timberlake.
In the closing seconds of Rock Your Body, Timberlake tugged at Jackson’s costume, briefly revealing her right breast, adorned with a decorative shield. Timberlake later described the moment as an unintended “wardrobe malfunction”, a phrase that quickly entered pop-culture shorthand.
Janet Jackson (left) covers her breast after a wardrobe malfunction during the half-time performance with Justin Timberlake at Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004. (AP: David Phillip)
The reaction was immediate and far-reaching. The incident prompted scrutiny, congressional attention and a re-evaluation of live television standards.
CBS, which broadcast the game, was fined $US550,000 by the Federal Communications Commission, a penalty later overturned, and broadcasters expanded the use of delays for live events.
The professional fallout, however, was uneven. Jackson was uninvited from the Grammy Awards telecast the following week, and largely retreated from the public spotlight, while Timberlake’s career continued uninterrupted. Years later, Timberlake said the two had reconciled, but the disparity in their treatment was not forgotten.
When the NFL announced Timberlake’s return to the half-time stage in 2018, the decision reignited debate. Critics pointed to what they viewed as a racial and gender double standard, arguing that Jackson, a Black woman, bore the brunt of the consequences while Timberlake, a white man, emerged largely unscathed.
Online, hashtags such as #JusticeForJanet resurfaced, reframing the moment through a broader cultural lens.
Formation: Beyoncé and political symbolism
When Beyoncé performed Formation in 2016, the half-time show became a moment of cultural declaration.
Set in the San Francisco Bay Area, the performance leaned heavily into Black history and identity. Dancers appeared in Black Panther-inspired attire, raised clenched fists and formed symbolic shapes on the field as Beyoncé delivered lyrics celebrating Black features and pride.
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The imagery echoed decades of Black activism, from civil rights-era protest to modern calls for social justice.
The performance drew widespread acclaim for its clarity and artistry while also sparking criticism from conservative commentators and some law enforcement groups who accused it of promoting anti-police sentiment. With an audience of more than 110 million viewers, the debate quickly moved beyond the stadium.
Several moments stood out. Dancers briefly formed an X-shape, interpreted by some as a reference to Malcolm X, while raised fists recalled the 1968 Olympic protest by Tommie Smith and John Carlos. The visuals aligned directly with the message of the song Formation, which centres Black identity and self-definition.
‘Believe in Love’: Coldplay and evolving visibility
Beyoncé (left) Coldplay singer Chris Martin (centre), and Bruno Mars (right) performing together in 2016. (AP: Julio Cortez)
Coldplay was the half-time show headliner in 2016, bringing out Beyoncé and Bruno Mars for a performance built around themes of unity, inclusion and joy.
The set featured a rainbow-coloured stage, vibrant dancers and a crowd mosaic that spelled out “Believe in Love”. A pride flag was visible near frontman Chris Martin, and the show’s closing imagery emphasised togetherness.
While many viewers praised the message as affirming and timely, some conservative groups criticised the presentation for embracing LGBTQI+ symbolism. The reaction reflected broader cultural conversations around representation and visibility in mainstream entertainment.
When Kendrick Lamar’s symbolism becomes the story
Last year, Kendrick Lamar treated the half-time stage as a controlled narrative space, using choreography, costuming and staging to explore themes of identity, power and perception.Â
Kendrick Lamar’s performance at last year’s Super Bowl made plenty of headlines. (AP: Matt Slocum)
His performance unfolded with cinematic precision, opening as dancers spilled out of a Buick GNX in choreographed fashion before Lamar took command of the field.
Dancers dressed in red, white and blue framed the performance, while Samuel L. Jackson appeared as an Uncle Sam figure who interrupted the action with pointed commentary, labelling the spectacle “too loud” and urging Lamar to “play the game”.
The exchange underscored the tension between expression and expectation that has come to define modern half-time shows.
While the performance stayed within league parameters, it still sparked debate among commentators who scrutinised the imagery and tone. The response reinforced how the half-time show, even without overt rule-breaking, can function as visual storytelling that invites interpretation at a scale unmatched in other live events.
Other defiant moments on a global stage
The NFL has long maintained guardrails around the half-time show, particularly when performances edge toward political commentary.
Still, some artists have chosen to test — and at times ignore — those limits.
Jennifer Lopez: 2020
Emme Maribel Muñiz, the daughter of singer Jennifer Lopez, performs with other children by a cage. (AP: Tyler Kaufman)
Ahead of Jennifer Lopez’s performance with Shakira in 2020, the NFL raised concerns about a segment widely interpreted as referencing children held in immigration detention facilities.Â
The league asked Lopez to cut a segment featuring children in cages, a critique of US immigration policies. But she refused and moved forward with the imagery, using visual symbolism rather than explicit messaging.
Eminem: 2022
The 2022 show featured a hip-hop celebration with a robust line-up of Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent, Eminem and Kendrick Lamar.Â
But as Eminem’s performance of Lose Yourself concluded, the rapper dramatically took a knee, lowering his head in a gesture widely interpreted as a tribute to Colin Kaepernick, whose decision to kneel during the national anthem in 2016 to protest police brutality sparked a nationwide cultural reckoning.Â
Eminem (left), performing with Dr. Dre (right) took a knee during the Super Bowl half-time show in 2022. (AP: Tyler Kaufman)
Kaepernick’s protest was later echoed by other players, and he would soon find himself out of the league.
Reports ahead of the game suggested the NFL had discouraged the gesture, though the league disputed that account. “We watched all elements of the show during multiple rehearsals this week and were aware that Eminem was going to do that,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said at the time.
M.I.A: 2012
During Madonna’s half-time set in 2012, M.I.A. flashed a middle finger toward the camera, a split-second gesture that immediately drew regulatory attention and replay-heavy coverage.Â
M.I.A (right) caused a stir by raising her middle finger while performing with Madonna (centre) and Nicki Minaj (left). (AP: Michael Conroy)
The action prompted an immediate fine and a legal dispute with the NFL. The sides later reached a settlement, ending a multi-million-dollar case over the incident.
AP