Yes, the “tree performers” who appeared during Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX Halftime Show were paid.
Dozens of performers who appeared as foliage surrounding the brightly colored, Puerto Rican–style “casita” were paid, according to CLLCT Media founder Darren Rovell.
“People inside trees were paid $18.70 an hour for 70 hours of work ($1,309),” Rovell wrote to his X account on Monday morning (Feb. 9). “Included 8 days of rehearsals + Game Day.”
An X user named Manny, who appeared as a “Bush Bunny” during the halftime performance, revealed that he signed up for the opportunity through a website but wasn’t aware he would be a “bush” until a week prior to the performance. He also said he got to hear the setlist through his in-ear monitors and knew about Lady Gaga’s surprise appearance but “couldn’t tell a soul.”
Another user, who goes by @AndrewAthias on X, said he flew all the way from Philadelphia to be one of about 500 trees, which he estimates was a “50/50 split of men and women.”
“Wearing a 50lb grass suit for 5 hours is not my ideal definition of fun but worth it for a 15min halftime show,” he wrote on X. “Benito is Boss of the year”
He also mentioned that trees were told “to not move because ‘there's no wind in Puerto Rico.’”
As for the qualifications for the gig, Andrew wrote that the trees were required to be “between 5'7 and 6'0, have an athletic build, and be able to wear a 50 lb costume for 5+ hours.”
Both Manny and Andrew confirmed they were able to take home a small bundle of the grass following the performance as a keepsake.
Those background performers technically earned more direct pay from the show than Bad Bunny himself, since Super Bowl halftime headliners are not paid by the NFL.
In this case, that exposure had measurable financial upside.
Apple Music reported that Bad Bunny's simultaneous listeners increased sevenfold after the performance, with hits like “DtMF” and “BAILE INoLVIDABLE” from Debí Tirar Más Fotos and “Tití Me Preguntó” from 2022’s Un Verano Sin Ti as the most streamed immediately following the show.