Entertainment
Bad Bunny Super Bowl LX halftime show not being reconsidered, Goodell says
The NFL is not considering dropping Bad Bunny as its Super Bowl halftime headline performer, Commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday, reaffirming a decision to put the Grammy-winning Puerto Rican artist on the league’s biggest stage that led to criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump and some of his supporters.
Goodell addressed the Bad Bunny controversy at his news conference following the annual fall owners meeting. It is the first time he has commented on the move announced in late September that garnered worldwide attention, including an increase in streams of Bad Bunny’s music, along with backlash.
“It’s carefully thought through,” Goodell said. “I’m not sure we’ve ever selected an artist where we didn’t have some blowback or criticism. It’s pretty hard to do when you have literally hundreds of millions of people that are watching.”
The 31-year-old born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio has been vocal in his opposition to Trump and his policies. He decided to do a 31-day residency in Puerto Rico, avoiding stops in the mainland U.S., citing concerns about the mass deportation of Latinos.
He performs in Spanish and is expected to do so at the Super Bowl.
“We’re confident it’s going to be a great show,” Goodell said, acknowledging there could be more talent added to the lineup along with Bad Bunny. “He understands the platform that he’s on, and I think it’s going to be exciting and a united moment.”
The San Francisco 49ers are hosting the Super Bowl on Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. It is unclear if Trump plans to be there, though he has made appearing in person at major sporting events a significant part of his second term in the White House.
Trump in an interview on conservative news network Newsmax said he had “never heard of” Bad Bunny.
“I don’t know who he is,” Trump said. “I don’t know why they’re doing it. It’s, like, crazy. And then they blame it on some promoter they hired to pick up entertainment. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous.”
Goodell defended the decision on Wednesday, explaining it was made because of Bad Bunny’s immense popularity.
“He’s one of the leading and most popular entertainers in the world,” Goodell said. “That’s what we try to achieve. It’s an important stage for us. It’s an important element to the entertainment value.”
Echoing what senior VP of football operations Troy Vincent said Tuesday, Goodell said there has not been much discussion about the tush push quarterback sneak since an effort to ban it narrowly failed to pass in the spring.
Vincent said the primary concern is how tough it is to officiate the maneuver that the Philadelphia Eagles have successfully executed so often. It was not on the formal agenda at this meeting, though owners did get an update on penalties and other football matters.
“It’s something we will continue to monitor on all phases, just like we do every other aspect of the game,” Goodell said. “We don’t have any proposals to bring it back up. It wouldn’t surprise me if something does evolve. But it’s not something we’re really focused on during the season.”
Asked about replay reviews and the length of time they are taking, Goodell said game times are actually down through the first seven weeks compared to last season, despite a surge in kick returns after an adjustment was made to the so-called dynamic kickoff.
“That’s quite remarkable when you add the number of kickoffs,” Goodell said. “You’re going to get more fouls. You’re going to get different sets of fouls. You’re going to have a little bit (more) length of the game.”
Goodell said he had breakfast with interim Players Association executive director David White before one of the league’s international games this season but expects any talk about a move to an 18-game regular season and other collective bargaining discussions to wait until the union chooses its long-term leader.
The current CBA runs through the 2031 league year. White told The Associated Press last month that an 18-game season was not inevitable.
“The negotiations will be a lot more than just simply the 18 and two (exhibition games),” Goodell said. “There are a lot of issues that we are going to raise and I’m certain that the players will raise, and that’s what it should be. That’s what collective bargaining is all about. They’re going to need time to make sure that they’re prepared, that they’re ready for the negotiations (and) they have their priorities straight, and then we can begin negotiations.”
Goodell said work is being done to choose sites for the Super Bowl to cap the 2028 and ’29 seasons and expects an announcement on those next year.
Entertainment
Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan turn over a new leaf after decades-long feud
Paris Hilton says it’s all water under the bridge with Lindsay Lohan.
Appearing on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen on Thursday, January 29, the Simple Life alum revealed that she and her longtime rival have reconciled and even bonded over motherhood after years of public tension.
“We are planning to get the kids together,” Hilton, 44, shared. “I am so happy for her. She is glowing. We love being moms.”
Both women have entered a very different chapter of life since their headline-making party days, bonding over motherhood. Hilton shares son Phoenix and daughter London with husband Carter Reum, while Lohan welcomed son Luai with husband Bader Shammas. According to the reality TV star, becoming mothers helped put old drama into perspective.
Their feud famously dates back to 2006, when rumours swirled about a love triangle involving Greek shipping heir Stavros Niarchos. That same year, oil heir Brandon Davis insulted Lohan while out with Hilton, who was caught on camera laughing. Lohan later claimed Hilton hit her at a party, which Hilton strongly denied.
The jabs continued for years. In 2017, Hilton said Lohan “wasn’t invited” to the iconic “Holy Trinity” night with Britney Spears. And during a 2019 WWHL appearance, she called Lohan “lame” and “embarrassing.”
But by 2022, Hilton insisted there were “no bad vibes,” saying, “We’re not in high school.” She later revealed she reached out to congratulate Lohan on her engagement and even offered some mom-to-mom advice when the Parent Trap star announced her pregnancy in 2023.
Entertainment
Here’s why Pakistan decide to boycott India in T20 World Cup 2026
The federal government on Sunday allowed the Pakistan cricket team to participate in the Men’s ICC T20 World Cup 2026 but barred the Green Shirt from playing the February 15 match against India.
The development came following a meeting between Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the federal capital.
Sources familiar with the matter told Geo News that the ICC’s biased treatment of Bangladesh was the main reason behind the decision.
Tensions flared between the cricket boards of Bangladesh and India after Bangladesh’s star pacer Mustafizur Rahman was removed from the Indian Premier League (IPL) on the directions of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), sparking outrage in Dhaka.
Later, the BCB requested the ICC to shift their matches outside India, but the international cricket body rejected the plea. In view of BCB’s firm stance, the ICC replaced them with Scotland in the showpiece event, saying it was not feasible to change the schedule so close to the February 7 start of the tournament.
Referring to the government of Pakistan’s decision, the sources said that the decision aimed at expressing solidarity with Bangladesh.
“The Pakistan team has been instructed not to play the February 15 match against India as a protest,” the sources added.
India’s Jay Shah, who was elected unopposed as chairman of the sport’s world body in August 2024, has turned the ICC into “Indian Cricket Council” with his biased decision, said the sources.
“The principles of justice and equality have been shattered by biased decisions,” the government sources said, adding that double standards were being adopted while making decisions from the ICC platform.
In view of the prevailing situation, it was necessary to register the protest, the government sources added.
Entertainment
Jesse Welles: Keeping the spirit of American folk music alive
The story of America can be told through the lyrics of folk music – songs of the Great Depression, the civil rights era, and the social revolutions of the 1960s. As folk singer Pete Seeger put it in 1967, “A song isn’t a speech; a song is not an editorial. If a song tries to be an editorial or a speech, often it fails as a song. The best songs tell a story, paint a picture, and leave the conclusion up actually to the listener.”
And if you’re wondering whether folk music is still relevant today, take a listen to Jesse Welles. He is 33 years old, with a voice older than his years, and a message that speaks across generations:
It ain’t the banks
And it ain’t the taxes
It ain’t the payday loans and the high rent homes
And predatory fees and practices …
If you worked a little harder
Then you’d have a lot more
So the blame and the shame’s on you
For being so damn poor, yeah
From “The Poor”
CBS News
If it seems fitting right now to have a guy with six strings singing about the times, Welles said, “Every dog has its day!”
Well, it’s your own damn fault you’re so damn fat
Shame, shame, shame
All the food on the shelf was engineered for your health
So you’re gonna have to take the blame
From “Fat”
Welles can be soft-spoken in person, but behind the microphone he sings loud and clear. He takes aim at anyone he thinks takes advantage of working people – the “folks” in folk music.
There ain’t no “you” in UnitedHealth
There ain’t no “me” in the company
There ain’t no “us” in the private trust
There’s hardly “humans” in humanity
From “UnitedHealth”
At a Greenwich Village record store last fall, Welles dug through his musical roots, and his mother’s influence: “She really liked Crosby, Stills and Nash, and she liked Fleetwood Mac,” he said. “She liked pretty, pretty music. But no one was really talking about Dylan. So, I suppose that was maybe the first solo space mission I flew, was to go and find, like, some hard folk music.”
CBS News
He was in New York to perform on CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” where he chose a song that speaks to the unease some feel about our moment in history:
Join ICE,
Boy, ain’t it nice?
Join ICE
Take my advice
If you’re lackin’ control and authority,
Come with me and hunt down minorities
Join ICE
From “Join ICE”
Welles is up for four Grammy Awards Sunday, recognition that this troubadour from Ozark, Arkansas, never expected, especially considering his talents seemed to be more on the football field rather than the stage.
He wasn’t always comfortable with his voice, which his sister said sounds like burnt toast. “But burnt toast is still edible!” he laughed.
With that simple and direct “‘burnt toast” sound, Welles gets millions of views on social media.
War isn’t murder
Good men don’t die
Children don’t starve
And all women survive
War isn’t murder
That’s what they say
When you’re fighting the devil
Murder’s okay
From “War Isn’t Murder”
He tapes himself, alone in the Arkansas hills, with lyrics that can seem ripped from the headlines, as in “No Kings.” But he laughs when asked if he sees himself as a political figure: “A political … ? Wow! No!”
Those songs got their start in his spare bedroom-turned-studio, where he played for us a new one:
I knew a man, his only wish
To answer to no one, drink like a fish.
He worked real hard and he got it all.
There was plenty to drink, and no one to call.
If you look down the road, you’ll see the sun
And it makes time, as you take time,
Just to end where you’ve begun.
I’ve got peace like a river.
I’ve got time.
I don’t need a thing
That ain’t already mine.
From “Peace Like a River”
Asked what he’s trying to say in his songs, Welles replied, “I can’t tell you what it means. Like, it’s up to everybody. Nobody is going to paint anything and tell you, ‘This is what I mean when I painted this.’ You know, that’s no fun. That takes away your experience.”
Welles has been embraced by legends of folk and rock. He recently performed with John Fogerty, and late last year he went into the studio with Joan Baez, bridging generations and bringing in new audiences.
Joan Baez and Jesse Welles perform “Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright” at The Filmore in San Francisco:
For Jesse Welles, it is his way of keeping the spirit of American folk music alive. “I think it’s important that it doesn’t go away,” he said. “It’s something that you know has been going on, it’s been going on for centuries and centuries. You wake up one morning and you go, this is what I do. This is what I was supposed to do.”
You can stream Jesse Welles’ Grammy-nominated album “Under the Powerlines (April 24 – September 24)” by clicking on the embed below (Free Spotify registration required to hear the tracks in full):
For more info:
Story produced by Ed Forgotson. Editor: Carol Ross.
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