Following the social media firestorm that ignited over Don Omar’s homophobic comments about his rival Ozuna and the sexually explicit video that has surfaced of Ozuna from when he was underage, Don Omar took to Facebook Live to explain himself. An apology was not forthcoming. Instead, the reggaeton star pointed a finger at those who have not found justice for deceased queer trapero Kevin Fret, whom Don Omar managed to avoid mentioning by name throughout the nine-minute clip.
“I am not homophobic,” Don Omar said, speaking of the love that he has for his LGBTQ family members, including his lesbian tía Vicky and an unnamed gay cousin. He read the dictionary definition of “homophobia” from his cell phone before assuring fans that he is not afraid of queer people. “Not one of you can call a gentleman who loves his family ‘homophobic,’ who respects them, who takes care of them, and wants the best for each of them,” he assured.
The rest of the video was devoted to putting blame on those who have not found justice for Fret. “I’m not talking about Ozuna, no,” said Omar. “What I want you to know is that in my family there are [gay people] and if one of them had been murdered [because of] a hate crime, my family, me, their friends, and the members of the community would have showed some kind of interest in justice.”
He also referenced longtime artists in the urbano industry who have yet to come out of the closet. “They haven’t said — well, you can guess who they are,” says Omar. “But they know I know. They also have my respect, and they know it. These are people who have been in the genre for 20-25 years and they’re so reserved that there are few of us who know their sexual preference.”
“Someone died and Puerto Rico hasn’t done anything besides make an issue over a post on Instagram,” the reggaetonero continued. “So let’s be real.”
His final words were for the still-unnamed Fret; “So rest in peace, someone who I never met, but who did not deserve to die in a hate crime.”
Not everyone was on board with Don Omar’s statement. “Don Omar’s ‘explanation’ is a clear example of saying, ‘I’m not homophobic, BUT…’” commented gay Puerto Rican activist Pedro Julio Serrano. “When someone is not homophobic, they don’t use words that degrade sexual orientation nor anyone’s humanity. It is enough to know that ‘pato’ is an insult to the LGBTT community.”
He was not alone in his frustration with Omar’s statement. “We know that there’s a dead person, that there is a case to clear up,” wrote Twitter user Jowen Halber. “But because of comments like yours, those deaths keep happening.”
Watch the full video below: