If you happened to be watching CNN News Central on Thursday afternoon, you may have seen co-host Boris Sanchez conducting a segment on the NFL's choice of talent for next February's Super Bowl LX halftime show. The controversial selection of Bad Bunny, a Puerto Rican rapper and singer, who has a history of hating Donald Trump and his immigration policies, has understandably resulted in much backlash, especially from the MAGA crowd.
According to Sanchez, Bad Bunny has said that he hasn't toured in the United States recently, "Partly for fear that ICE would raid his concert venues." Sanchez then played a clip of Corey Lewandowski, Chief Advisor to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, appearing on The Benny Show, addressing if ICE will be at the next Super Bowl. Noem said "There is nowhere that you can provide safe haven for people who are in this country illegally, not the Super Bowl and nowhere else."
Sanchez then asked one of his guests, Adrian Carrasquillo of The National Immigration Newsletter, "..Having this artist on that stage at a consequential time for Latinos in this country, it feels like this is going to transcend entertainment." Carrasquillo responded: "He has had so much criticism about ICE, and I think he's going to get into that as well."
Unloading on Trump and ICE "transcends entertainment." It's serious stuff, and then Sanchez decided to leave no doubt about where he stands when it comes to Bad Bunny, and the excitement he is harboring over his upcoming Super Bowl appearance. Sanchez asked Carrasquillo, "Is he going to play "Estamos Bien?" It's been like three years since he played that song, it's my favorite song, do you think he's going to play it.?"
When Carrasquillo expressed surprise at Sanchez's admission, "That's your favorite song?...", Sanchez immediately chimed in, raising his voice in his own defense, "Wow! What tacit criticism, it's a great song!" Sanchez's guest then admitted, "I love that song, that song is very special to me."
Look, there is nothing wrong with Boris Sanchez being a fan of Bad Bunny, and if this segment was just strictly about what the Super Bowl show would be like, and what songs would be performed, it would be fine for Sanchez to tell us all how much he loves, and craves to see Bad Bunny do a song that he hasn't heard him sing in three years.
But that's not what the bulk of this interview was about. It was about the legitimacy of the NFL selecting Bad Bunny in the first place, and the ramifications of that choice on multiple levels, including the possible involvement of ICE agents at the Super Bowl, which is four months away. This issue will only get bigger and more heated. Then there's the content of his lyrics. Will smutty raps in Spanish make the biggest TV show of the year?
How can fan boy Boris Sanchez expect to be taken seriously in any future segments on the issue? If Sanchez considers himself a "journalist", he probably would have done well to keep his unbridled enthusiasm for Bad Bunny's music to himself, if being taken seriously matters to him, and to CNN.
