Of the many right-wing tantrums thrown over Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show performance, few were goofier than Jake Paul’s, who called the Puerto Rican superstar a “fake American citizen.”
The influencer-turned-boxer’s X post was promptly lit up with a community note, explaining that people from Puerto Rico have been considered U.S. citizens since 1917. But it was the righteous rejoinder from Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that put an even finer point on Paul’s hypocrisy.
“A ‘fake American citizen’?” AOC wrote. “Didn’t you MOVE to Puerto Rico to avoid paying your taxes while kids across America go hungry? Meanwhile Benito actually funds low income kids’ access to arts and sports programs, while you defund them. Of course you’re mad. He makes you look small.”
Indeed, Paul and his brother Logan moved to Puerto Rico in 2021, part of a wave of wealthy foreigners looking to take advantage of the island’s tax breaks and incentives. Bad Bunny actually addressed these exemptions, and the displacement caused by rich expats, in the music video/documentary for his Un Verano Sin Ti song, “El Apagón.” (Bad Bunny performed this song, the title of which translates to “blackout,” at the Super Bowl, too; the segment featured dancers on electric poles, a nod to Puerto Rico’s poorly maintained power grid and frequent blackouts.)
At the time, Logan Paul actually tried to call out Bad Bunny for his attacks on the tax exemptions. In a 2022 interview, he said he found it “hypocritical because Bad Bunny is a Puerto Rican, living in Puerto Rico, who is privately taking advantage of the same tax program that he is publicly condemning.”
And while Logan gave a reporter an emphatic “No” when asked if he was excited about Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance, he actually took his brother to task over the “fake American citizen” comment (while also offering up some praise for Benito Bowl). “I love my brother but I don’t agree with this,” Logan wrote on X. “Puerto Ricans are Americans & I’m happy they were given the opportunity to showcase the talent that comes from the island.”
Jake also wound up doing some backpedaling of his own, kinda. He changed his X bio to “Benito #1 fan” and insisted his “fake citizen” comment was not about the actual citizenship status of Puerto Ricans, but rather people who apparently dare to use their First Amendment rights to criticize America.
“[I]f you’re publicly criticizing ICE who are doing their job and openly hating on America, I’m going to speak on it. Period,” he wrote, adding: “If you benefit from a country and the platform it gives you, but publicly disrespect it at the same time, that’s what I mean by being a fake citizen.”
