Bethenny Frankel praised Bad Bunny for “expressing his experiences” during the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show.
“My take on Bad Bunny and his performance at the Super Bowl is that he is an artist who expresses himself, his music, and his experience as a Puerto Rican in America,” the Skinny Girl founder said on Instagram Reel on Monday.
The Real Housewives of New York alum pointed out that from country to hip-hop and other genres, all musicians share experiences and culture through music and performance, and that’s what artistry is all about.
“Bad Bunny is a Puerto Rican living in the United States and he’s on the biggest stage in the world. He’s so inspirational to people because he’s expressing his experiences in his native language.”
“What Madonna said best is to express yourself,” she concluded.
However, when Frankel posted the same video on TikTok, the comments section was filled with users claiming that she had originally posted the clip “ripping up the performance.”
“Yeah, you better go home soon!” one person wrote, while another added: “No, please put the original video back.”
Some pointed out that her argument that Bad Bunny (real name Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio) is an “American Puerto Rican” is meaningless because Puerto Rico is in the United States.
During Sunday’s celebrity-filled performance, Bad Bunny celebrated several aspects of Puerto Rican culture, including dance, food and agriculture.
Lady Gaga, who made a surprise performance of Bruno Mars’ “Die with a Smile,” also wore the true blue of Puerto Rico’s flag.
The halftime show, which the King of Latin Trap himself described as a “big party,” received backlash from other celebrities, including Chris Brown and Jake Paul.
“I think it’s safe to say…they need me,” Brown posted on her Instagram Stories minutes after the performance, along with a winking face emoji.
Paul criticized X, declaring that he was not in tune with Bad Bunny’s performance, and advised his 4.4 million followers not to do the same.
The YouTuber also called Bad Bunny, a Puerto Rican-born American citizen, a “fake American citizen who is publicly performing to hate America.”
But his brother Logan later tweeted: “I love my brother but I don’t agree with this.”
“Puerto Ricans are Americans and I’m glad they were given the opportunity to showcase the talent that comes from the island,” Logan added in the X post.
