WATCH: Bad Bunny Addresses ‘Floating Island of Garbage’ Remarks About Puerto Rico
Photo by Eric Rojas.
Bad Bunny’s back in the public eye. With the release of his highly-anticipated sixth album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, the Puerto Rican icon also talked openly about comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s racist remarks about Puerto Rico.
Last October, Hinchcliffe made headlines after his controversial speech at a Donald Trump rally. One of the jokes he made had to do with calling Puerto Rico “garbage.” He said: “I don’t know if you guys know this, but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.” The racist joke went viral, and many Puerto Rican stars like Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, and Bad Bunny showed their support for the Democratic nominee Kamala Harris as a response to the upsetting remark.
During his press tour promoting his recent LP, Benito was asked about the incident and his response at the time. During a new interview with Popcast, when asked about the comedian’s joke, he said: “I didn’t feel any pressure to say something. I did it because I felt it… I was angry at the time ‘cause I was here in New York. So I was like, ‘What? This guy is right there, we should go.’”
He continued: “The moment was bothersome. Yeah, I know it was a comedian, blah, blah, blah, blah, but that wasn’t a stand-up comedy show. It was supposed to be a political rally.”
Bad Bunny explained that he didn’t know Hinchcliffe was a comedian because he wore a suit at a political rally. He noted that what bothered and worried him was that because the remark was said during a political rally — as opposed to a comedy show — there would be people who wouldn’t understand it was a joke and agree with it. He was also concerned about people who were going to feel disrespected and hurt by the joke.
In another interview with TIME, he also touched on the subject. He reiterated the same message about it not being the time and place for the joke. “I consider myself a person who, to a certain point, likes dark humor… But the detail was that it was not a standard comedy nor a comedy show, it was a political rally….” he said. “Most people don’t know who the f-ck you are… They’re going to assume that you’re a politician at a political rally. So that awakens people who may be there and think the same as you, and say ‘Yes, Puerto Rico [is]….’ And all those racist people, at that moment, [it] gives them empowerment for a joke.”