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America's top football league has no plans to remove Bad Bunny as the headline performer for the prestigious mid-game entertainment, Commissioner Roger Goodell announced this week.

In doing so, Goodell stood by the choice to place the internationally acclaimed singer on the league’s biggest stage, a move that sparked negative reactions from the former president and some of his supporters.

Goodell commented on the controversy during his media briefing following the annual fall owners meeting. This marks the initial instance he has spoken out on the selection, which has attracted global interest, including a rise in streams of the artist's catalog alongside backlash.

“It’s carefully thought through,” the commissioner remarked. “I doubt we’ve ever selected an artist where we didn’t have some blowback or criticism. It’s challenging to do when you have literally hundreds of millions of people that are watching.”

Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, has been a outspoken critic of the former leader. He recently opted to hold a month-long concert series in his homeland, avoiding stops in the mainland US, referencing concerns about the mass deportation of Hispanic individuals.

The 31-year-old, who sings in Spanish, is expected to continue this at the big game.

“We’re confident it’s going to be a spectacular performance,” the NFL commissioner commented. “He understands the opportunity that he’s on, and in my view it will prove exciting and a unifying experience.”

The host team are hosting the championship game on February 8 at the Santa Clara venue in Santa Clara, California. It is unclear if Trump intends to be there, though he has turned physical attendance at major sporting events a key aspect of his current presidency.

Trump in an interview on conservative news network Newsmax claimed he had “no knowledge of” Bad Bunny.

“I’m unfamiliar with who he is,” he stated. “I don’t know the reasoning behind it. It seems absurd. And then, they attribute it to some promoter they hired to pick up talent. In my opinion it’s completely unreasonable.”

The commissioner defended the choice on Wednesday, clarifying it was made because of Bad Bunny’s massive fanbase.

“He’s one of the top and best-loved entertainers globally,” Goodell affirmed. “This is exactly what we aim to achieve. It’s an important stage for us. It serves as a key component to the entertainment value.”