The second-long moment that broke the internet — and apparently several Republican brains — just got a response from the man himself.
Dan Santiago, one-half of the viral grinding duo from Bad Bunny‘s record-breaking Super Bowl halftime show, is speaking out about the conservative meltdown his brief moment with fellow dancer Igor Faria sparked. And he’s not apologizing.
“Men will do anything to protect masculinity at all costs,” Santiago told them, calling the backlash “absolutely ridiculous.”
The fleeting moment came during Bad Bunny’s performance of his song while perched atop a white pickup truck. Santiago and Faria were spotted hanging from the truck’s doors, pressing against each other in what became instant meme material for queer viewers — and a full-blown scandal for certain lawmakers.
Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles wasted no time demanding a congressional investigation into the NFL and NBCUniversal. He described the halftime show as “pure smut,” claiming it featured explicit content that children were forced to endure. Ogles even went so far as to call it inappropriate for primetime television.
But Santiago sees the pearl-clutching for what it is. The 30-year-old New York-based dancer, who identifies as straight, said he’s proud to have been part of a queer moment on such a massive platform.
“I do hold it with a lot of pride because a lot of my friends are queer and I take being an ally seriously,” he said. “There’s a lot of homophobia in the world. So being an ally feels really important right now with the hate that is just spewing in the world.”
Santiago emphasized that he and Faria, who are both straight, had extensive conversations about whether it was appropriate for them to participate in this moment. Ultimately, he decided representation mattered more than his own hesitation.
“I think that queerness deserves to be seen and heard and normalized,” he said. “It’s important for the world to see that masculinity doesn’t need to be toxic, and it doesn’t need to look a certain way.”
The dancer also pointed out the obvious: conservatives are fixating on one split-second moment while ignoring the historic significance of Bad Bunny becoming the first Latino solo artist to headline the Super Bowl halftime show, performing almost entirely in Spanish.
“I find it really sad because the performance is also bigger than that one moment, although it is really important,” Santiago said. “I think the fact that they’re hyper-fixating on that moment says more about them than it does about the performance.”
In an Instagram post shared Tuesday, Santiago wrote about his pride in the performance. “I’m proud to dance for an artist like @badbunnypr who uses love to diffuse so much of the hate that’s going on in the world,” he posted. “I’m proud to be a Puerto Rican from New York. To represent my people. To represent the Latin community.”
He concluded the post with a powerful statement: “Our bodies. Our stories. Our joy. Seen in HISTORY.”
The performance, which drew 128.2 million viewers and became the most-watched halftime show in history, featured surprise appearances from Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin. A massive banner flew during the set reading: “The Only Thing More Powerful Than Hate Is Love.”
Santiago told them that he knew the moment would blow up. “I knew it was gonna blow up,” he said simply.
While Ogles continues to demand investigations and translate Bad Bunny lyrics for shocked constituents, Santiago remains focused on what the moment actually represented: freedom, visibility, and a refusal to let hate dictate who gets to be seen.
“To me, being a part of this moment wasn’t about performing queerness; it was about freedom and representing a community that deserves to be seen,” he said.
Consider it mission accomplished.
