Pitbull is currently getting a lot of attention because of a strongly worded message he once aimed at critics of the United States of America.
The first-generation Cuban-American artist caught heat this week over a resurfaced video filmed during a concert. As seen in the clip, Pitbull took a quick break from his musical performance to deliver an impassioned rant about anyone who dared to verbally attack the U.S.
"To whoever doesn’t like the United States of America, may God bless you, but fuck you at the same time," he told the crowd. "If you don’t like the United States of America, go back to the countries that we the fuck from, and you will see how much you appreciate the United States of America."
It’s unclear exactly when Pitbull made the comments, but the clip began making headlines as far back as 2021.
X user Carter Hughes reposted the footage on Monday (February 16), igniting an online debate about U.S. patriotism and First Amendment rights.
"Someone who loves their country also criticizes it and can hate what it’s becoming," one person replied. "I genuinely don’t consider someone to have American values when they want to shut up criticism by saying 'leave if you don’t like it.'"
"Just because other countries have it worse does not mean that we cannot strive to be better," another added.
While many were quick to challenge Pitbull’s take, others were quick to offer their co-sign.
"Exactly. If they hate it here so much, we got planes ready," one person wrote, while another added: "So true. Millions of Americans do not realize how fortunate they are."
Pitbull (real name Armando Christian Pérez) was born to immigrant parents. His mother, Alysha Acosta, came to the U.S. through Operation Peter Pan — a CIA-backed initiative in which thousands of Cuban parents sent their unaccompanied children to the U.S. from 1960 to 1962.
Pitbull’s father, Armando Perez, migrated to the U.S. years later after winning a visa lottery. The "I Know You Want Me" artist spoke about his parents' background in a 2015 video for Immigrant Heritage Month.
"I’m very proud of it," he said about his family’s immigrant story. "I appreciate every opportunity that this country has to offer… [My parents] were very ambitious, very positive. All they would speak about is hard work, hard work, hard work… They knew that what this country had to offer was that you could control your own destiny. You had opportunity, and you had the No. 1 thing, which is freedom."