Was the Child Seen in Bad Bunny Halftime Show the Same Boy Detained by ICE?
During his record-breaking Super Bowl halftime show on February 8, Bad Bunny shared a quiet moment that immediately went viral. The Puerto Rican star walked onto a stage set designed to look like a living room and handed his actual Grammy trophy to a young boy.
Fans on social media quickly began to guess who the child was, with many believing it was Liam Conejo Ramos, a five-year-old who had recently been in the national news. Liam and his father had been detained by immigration agents in Minnesota in January, leading to a massive public outcry and a judge eventually ordering their release.
Some viewers thought Bad Bunny was making a political statement by including the boy in his show, especially since the singer has been a vocal critic of strict immigration policies. One user on X shared their excitement, writing that they thought the boy was a little version of the singer and that the moment made their heart swell with emotion.
However, the boy in the performance was not Liam Ramos. Sources from the show’s production confirmed to PEOPLE that the child was actually a five-year-old actor named Lincoln Fox.
The moment was intended to represent a young Benito and send a positive message that dreams come true for kids who work hard. Lincoln later shared his excitement on Instagram, saying he would remember this day forever and that it was a huge honor to work with the singer.
Even though the boy wasn’t Liam, the performance was still filled with messages about unity and Latino pride. Bad Bunny made history as the first artist to perform a Super Bowl halftime set entirely in Spanish, bringing out huge stars like Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, and Cardi B.
He ended the show with a message on the big screen stating that the only thing more powerful than hate is love, a phrase he had also used during his Grammy acceptance speech just a week earlier.
As of February, Bad Bunny is in the middle of his massive “Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour,” which is traveling through South America before heading to Australia and Europe later this spring.
He is also focusing on his acting career, with his role in the Darren Aronofsky thriller Caught Stealing garnering early buzz. In that film, he stars alongside Austin Butler as a character caught in the middle of a high-stakes crime in 1990s New York City.
Do you think Bad Bunny’s choice to use a child actor to represent his younger self was a better way to inspire fans than using a real-life news figure? Share your thoughts in the comments.