J Lo and Shakira dazzled Super Bowl LIV with a fast-paced, sexy spectacle of hits from the Latina pop stars along with political statements such as a gigantic Puerto Rican flag unfurled during “Born in the U.S.A.” and children that appeared in illuminated cages, but it didn't sit well with conservatives.
Wrote Franklin Graham: “I don't expect the world to act like the church, but our country has had a sense of moral decency on prime time television in order to protect children. We see that disappearing before our eyes. It was demonstrated tonight in the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show—with millions of children watching. This exhibition was Pepsi showing young girls that sexual exploitation of women is okay. With the exploitation of women on the rise worldwide, instead of lowering the standard, we as a society should be raising it. I'm disappointed in Pepsi and the NFL.”
Wrote USA Today: “Online, the performance sparked debate: Was it empowering to watch two women of color over 40 performing in an often-provocative way? Or had we reverted back to a pre-#MeToo moment of objectifying women?”
JLo sang Born in the USA while wearing the Puerto Rican flag. What Fox didn't show, or I missed, were the small Latino children in mock cages on the field. pic.twitter.com/ywScj1vHku
— John G. (@johnnysr32514) February 3, 2020
Esquire reported: “The visuals of children in cages were a clear reference to the inhumane treatment of children on the U.S. boarder. That symbol, combined with the song ‘Let's Get Loud,' made for a powerful moment of protest, demanding Americans do something about the inhumanity at the border.”
Mediaite looked at FOX & Friends' analysis of the halftime show: “Co-host Brian Kilmeade noted that during a particular transition of the performance ‘they have kids that look like they are in cages,' adding
‘a lot of people thought is this something going after the (Trump) administration … put kids in cages, and that is what Democrats say about Republicans about their policy.' Given that both performers are Latinx stars, whose music has a Latin-flavor (and very broad appeal), the show did seem to be an almost outright appeal by the NFL to the every growing Latin-American demographic. And the visuals of kids in round, cage-like structures is not a stretch.”
