Super Bowl LIV’s halftime show was the topic of some heated debate immediately after it occurred on February 2nd, 2020. Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, both women of Latin heritage, headlined the show and incorporated political topics into their performance.

Heads were immediately turned when Shakira appeared on the stage. She came out in a sparkly, red two-piece outfit that showed off her curves. She began singing the song “Ojos Asi,” which became the first song ever sung in Spanish during a Super Bowl performance. Many viewers found Shakira’s outfit and song choice questionable, but the event got more political when JLo came on stage.

JLo’s outfit was more tasteful – until it wasn’t. She was wearing a black, skin tight outfit, but soon made a costume change and began dancing on a pole. The pole appeared to be extremely similar to a pole that a stripper would dance on, and that’s where people got upset. One man has even threatened to sue the NFL and Pepsi because of the images of ‘pornography’ that he saw on his screen.

But the controversy did not end there. JLo performed a mashup of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” and her own “Let’s Get Loud,” and during this performance she made what seemed to be a political statement. While her and her daughter were singing, there were children scattered across the field in glowing cages. This seemed to be symbolizing the border policies that the Trump administration has been enforcing where children are often imprisoned or separated from their families. Additionally, JLo wore a coat that showed the Puerto Rican flag on one side and the American flag on the other, showing off her heritage. Additionally, the double-sided flag represented how Puerto Rico is a United States territory and that people need to start treating Puerto Ricans as citizens.

It does not seem like a coincidence that two powerful Latina ladies made such an amazing performance the night before the Iowa Democratic Caucus. They wanted to show the power of Latinx in America and how people should be more accepting of them.