Jake Paul is retracting his harsh words for Bad Bunny following considerable backlash online.
On Sunday, Paul sparked controversy after he called the Puerto Rican superstar “fake American.” Since then, his brother, Logan, responded in defense of Puerto Ricans, and other high-profile figures, like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Claressa Shields, slammed the boxer.
Early Monday morning, Jake tried to clarify what he meant by calling Bad Bunny “fake.”
“The problem with my tweet is the word fake being misinterpreted,” Paul tweeted.
“[Bad Bunny’s] not a fake citizen obviously bc hes Puerto Rican and I love Puerto Rico and all Americans who support the country,” he added. “Moreso Bunny is fake bc of his values and criticism of our great country.”
In another tweet, Paul wrote that he uses his platform to “support” Puerto Rico, where he also lives. He wrote that he has a problem with Bad Bunny due to him “publicly criticizing ICE who are doing their job.” It seems that, for Paul, hatred towards ICE is equal to “hating on America.”
Paul then nodded to Bad Bunny’s Grammys speech, writing, “And I agree love is more powerful than hate. Love America.”
In a third tweet, Paul wrote, “Guys i love bad bunny idk what happened on my twitter last night ?? wtf,” though it’s unclear exactly what he meant.
As if this wasn’t enough, the 29-year-old also changed his X bio to read, “Benito #1 fan.”
On Sunday, ahead of Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX Halftime Show, Paul tweeted, “Let’s rally together and show big corporations they can’t just do whatever they want without consequences (which equals viewership for them). You are their benefit. Realize you have power. Turn off this halftime. A fake American citizen performing who publicly hates America. I cannot support that.”
Benito has been openly critical of ICE. Just last week, during his acceptance speech for album of the year at the Grammys, he said, “Before I say thanks to God, I’m gonna say ICE out!”
“We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we are not aliens. We are humans, and we are Americans,” he added. “The hate gets more powerful with more hate. The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love.”