UFC fighter Sean Strickland is facing some backlash after unleashing a racist, sexist and homophobic tirade (the trifecta) about Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime performance during a pre-fight media appearance this week.
Strickland called the Grammy winner a “faggot” and referred to him as “the Puerto Rican” before attacking the NFL for, in his words, “ruining” the sport by bringing in a “gay foreigner who doesn’t speak English” to perform at halftime.
The remarks were made ahead of UFC Fight Night 267 at Houston’s Toyota Center and quickly went viral, with Paramount and Toyota logos clearly visible on the official event backdrop behind Strickland.
Why This Matters:
The clip drew widespread criticism from fans and public figures, with some users on X even calling out the presence of Paramount and Toyota logos in frame during the rant.
Ultimately, this underscores that brand safety isn’t limited to digital environments.
Corporate sponsors, media partners and venue sponsors don’t control every word spoken on a stage. Sure. But when their branding is visible, it becomes part of the narrative, especially once a controversial clip starts to ciruclate.
For brands that invest heavily in contextual targeting, suitability frameworks, and impression-level controls online, moments like this underscore a parallel challenge in live and IRL environments. Reputational exposure travels wherever the camera is pointed. Beware and be prepared.
Experts React:
Here’s ESPN’s Michael Eaves on Strickland’s remarks:
Part of the reason other sports leagues don’t see comments like this from their athletes is the strict rules they enforce to avoid alienating advertisers. It’s unclear what safeguards the UFC has in place in this case (or what recourse brands have when attached to a moment like this).
Our Take:
The ad industry spends enormous time debating brand safety, suitability and contextual adjacency in programmatic. But this moment is a reminder that brand exposure risk doesn’t begin and end with digital spaces. Basically, a logo on a step-and-repeat backdrop is just as contextual as a banner next to an article.
If brands are serious about protecting reputation, those considerations have to extend beyond the bidstream and into real-world environments where brand-damaging moments can unfold live, on camera, at scale.
