FIERCE CONTROVERSY ERUPTS: Fox News’ Tomi Lahren claims Bad Bunny’s nationality in heated debate

Tomi Lahren, a Republican commentator, faced backlash after a viral debate clip showed her claiming Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny is not an American.

The exchange happened earlier this week on Lahren’s show, when she invited “Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar” co-host Krystal Ball to discuss news topics, including the announcement that Bad Bunny would headline the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show.

Towards the end of the program, Lahren asked Ball if she thought Bad Bunny was “a good choice for the Super Bowl.” Ball admitted she didn’t follow the performer closely, but defended the selection. “I’m not that knowledgeable about Bad Bunny,” she said, “but he seems like a great American artist, so sure.”

“He’s not an American artist, but—” Lahren began to respond.

Ball quickly corrected her, saying, “He’s Puerto Rican. That’s part of America, dear.”

The moment spread quickly online, with many pointing out that Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens by birth. Commenters flooded Lahren’s YouTube page to mock her misstep.

“Tomi didn’t know Puerto Rico is part of the USA! You can’t make this up hahahaha,” one comment read, which has been liked more than 2,000 times.

Another added, “Tomi, I’m not going to sugarcoat this. You got humiliated.” Others piled on with remarks such as, “This feels like a 7th grader debating their teacher,” and “Getting ate up on your own show is CRAZY.”

Lahren did not continue arguing the point after Ball corrected her, instead shifting to criticize Bad Bunny for his past remarks about immigration enforcement. She referenced his criticism of ICE, but Ball pushed back, saying, “America agrees with him on that.”

Last month, Bad Bunny announced he would not tour in the U.S., citing concerns that immigration enforcement could target his fans.

In response, Department of Homeland Security adviser Corey Lewandowski even threatened to have ICE agents present at the Super Bowl.

There have been several Super Bowl headliners born outside the continental U.S. Rihanna, who performed in 2023, was born in Barbados, Shakira, the 2020 co-headliner, is from Colombia, and The Weeknd, who headlined in 2021, is Canadian. Coldplay’s Chris Martin and The Rolling Stones are each from the U.K.