Newsweek: Bad Bunny Wearing Dress for Super Bowl Show Sparks Fury

[Coder]

https://www.newsweek.com/entertainment/ ... w-11405225

Here’s hoping these rumors are true!

[crfriend]

Here, I'm going to invoke my usual observation about such machinations and ask, "Who is {foo}, and why should I care?"

I don't "follow" "celebrities", starlets, jocks, talking heads, or sports -- all being entirely irrelevant to my existence and life. I'm not going to watch the Super Bowl for the simple reasons that (1) I'm going to be pinned down by a storm, (2) it's irrelevant to my existence. and (3) I'm one of the few that does not have a working TV at home (because there's nothing on).

For stuff that's important, I've got very robust connectivity with the real world. For stuff that isn't important, I have no problem with disconnecting from it. What some random celebrity is touting this week simply winds up in the "round file". If I'm curious about the actual score on The Game, then I can look it up; the ancillary stuff is nothing but noise.

Bruce Springsteen remarked some years ago about television is "57 channels and nothing on". It hasn't changed one lick since Newton Minow's time (a "vast wasteland"). If anything, it's gotten worse.

[Coder]

I have a slightly more positive outlook. Not so much that one celebrity will turn the tides, or that an influencer's power will change people's opinions.

What I hope comes from these sorts of things are discussions. Maybe conversations that happen at the dinner table. The cynic in me says those will be dismissive conversations, jesting at Bad Bunny's chosen outfit. The optimist in me says it will give men courage to discuss this topic - especially men who are inclined to wear a skirt, or such things.

[TSH]

This isn't news. He spoke about wearing one during Halftime. Even without the dress, these same knuckle-dragging anti-"woke" dingbats hate him for being a Puerto Rican "non-American" who sang a song entirely in Spanish. It's so ridiculous. These ******* idiots don't even know that Puerto Rico is A PART of America, making HIM a U.S. citizen by default. Just more racist misogyny from the party that continues to foster it. I hate people and I especially hate this country.

[geron]

Bruce Springsteen remarked some years ago about television is "57 channels and nothing on". It hasn't changed one lick since Newton Minow's time (a "vast wasteland"). If anything, it's gotten worse.

At the risk of going off at a tangent, I'd say that's because you haven't got a properly-funded public broadcaster, like nearly all western European countries have. That way you get programmes designed to meet the interests and needs of audiences rather than advertisers. And that exerts an influence on the whole broadcasting ecosystem.

[crfriend]

At the risk of going off at a tangent, I'd say that's because you haven't got a properly-funded public broadcaster, like nearly all western European countries have.

I'd say that thesis is bang on.

We used to have one, but that was sacrificed on the Altar of Greed by the current regime (and possibly because Big Bird was regarded as queer). It'll never recover, and the population will be measurably poorer for it. Gone forever are masterpieces like NOVA, Cosmos, Masterpiece Theatre, and dozens of other exemplars. Such a shame. But expected.

[Grok]

There are periods of cultural excellence, brilliant periods showing much promise.

The present isn't one of them.

I'm glad I got to see one, the 1960s/1970s. Many young adults haven't had such luck.

[phathack]

Do we have to discuss political topics that have nothing what so ever to do with the purpose of this forum?

[Ray]

The commentary above provides context to the subject matter. I don’t have a problem with it.

[jamie001]

If a woman were to wear a man’s suit and tie and perform at the Superbowl, would all of the outrage be occurring?

[phathack]

It doesnt matter who performs at the Super Bowl, someone will complain. Some people just cant go a day without being pissed off at someone for some stupid reason of another.

[TSH]

It doesnt matter who performs at the Super Bowl; someone will complain. Some people just cant go a day without being pissed off at someone for some stupid reason of another.

This hits close to home in a very uncomfortable way.

[Coder]

Well, no surprise here, no dress during the halftime show.

[crfriend]

Well, no surprise here, no dress during the halftime show.

I suspect that there was a fair amount of coercion going on behind the scenes, and Bad Bunny didn't want to find himself getting disappeared because he didn't "fit the mould" of "what a man should be" in the eyes of The Leader. It's easier to surrender than to fight (and a whole lot safer). Note that musical superstar and astrophysicist Brian May has publicly refused to tour the USA with a somewhat reconstituted Queen "because the United States is not safe at the moment".

Do I blame Bad Bunny for caving to pressure. Not one bit. I'd try to save my bacon as well. Consider the choice: "skirt" or a "disappearance"; it's a rather easy decision.

[TSH]

I suspect that there was a fair amount of coercion going on behind the scenes, and Bad Bunny didn't want to find himself getting disappeared because he didn't "fit the mould" of "what a man should be" in the eyes of The Leader. It's easier to surrender than to fight (and a whole lot safer).

Do I blame Bad Bunny for caving to pressure. Not one bit. I'd try to save my bacon as well. Consider the choice: "skirt" or a "disappearance"; it's a rather easy decision.

This is where I disagree. He already doesn't "fit the mold" and his history of wearing gender non-conforming attire is well-known, much to the chagrin of bigots. Also, he's one of the most popular men on the planet. I don't think the Orange Buffoon can just make him "disappear" from the public. And the rumors of him showing up to halftime in a dress were a right-wing hoax just to out him as some woke deviant. Even used fake (be it AI or Photoshop) images of him wearing a dress leading up to the Super Bowl.

Note that musical superstar and astrophysicist Brian May has publicly refused to tour the USA with a somewhat reconstituted Queen "because the United States is not safe at the moment".

That's just it. The United States has NEVER been, in its 250 years of being the exact opposite of the values it has so often claimed to champion for, a "safe" place. Name a time period and I could show examples that contradict that sentiment.