As a Latino man in a city dominated by Latino people, I cannot even begin describing how riveted I was by his Super Bowl halftime performance. Judging by New York City’s toilets, I’m not alone.
During Bad Bunny’s 13-minute set on Feb. 8 during one of the most-watched Super Bowls in history, New Yorkers apparently made a collective decision to hold in their pee until the performance was over. The city’s Department of Environmental Protection reported a “significant reduction in water usage” across the five boroughs while Bad Bunny performed a variation of his Puerto Rican residency show at midfield in San Francisco.
Then, the moment the show ended, everyone rushed to the bathrooms.
NYC saw a significant reduction in water usage throughout the five boroughs during the Super Bowl’s #BadBunny halftime show yesterday, but in the 15 minutes right after the show ended, there was a spike in usage equivalent to 761,719 toilets flushing across town.#SBLX
— NYC Water (@NYCWater) February 9, 2026
In the 15 minutes following halftime, water usage spiked to the equivalent of 761,719 toilets flushing almost simultaneously. That’s nearly 300,000 more flushes than last year’s halftime surge. Officials stressed the system handled it just fine; the demand was spread across the city, preventing strain on wastewater infrastructure.
It should be of no surprise, as New York is home to the largest Puerto Rican population in the mainland United States. If NYC’s bathroom data suggests that Bad Bunny had a captive audience, the Nielsen ratings prove it.
According to Nielsen data released earlier today, the Super Bowl drew in 124.9 million viewers, with that number spiking up to 128.2 million during Bad Bunny’s performance. That number, while extremely impressive, is down 5.3 million from last year’s Kendrick Lamar halftime performance, proving that while America adores Bad Bunny, they like watching Kendrick clown Drake even more.
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