Jake Paul had to explain why he referred to Bad Bunny as a ‘fake American citizen,’ and then appeared to backtrack altogether from his criticism by declaring his ‘love’ for the Super Bowl 60 halftime show performer in a series of social media posts on Monday morning, Feb. 9.
Paul, the YouTube star-turned-boxer, was one of the biggest online voices who encouraged fans on Sunday afternoon to boycott the NFL’s halftime show, less than two hours before the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots kicked off.
‘Turn off this halftime. A fake American citizen performing who publicly hates America. I cannot support that,’ Paul wrote initially on Sunday.
Bad Bunny (real name Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio) is from Puerto Rico, an American territory, and therefore is an American citizen. Paul’s initial tweet eventually received a community note from X correcting that those who live in Puerto Rico have been identified as American citizens since 1917.
Jake Paul clarified his position on Monday morning following the conclusion of the Super Bowl and Bad Bunny’s halftime show, which received significant political attention due to the Puerto Rican star’s public opposition to the illegal immigration enforcement tactics used by ICE and the Trump Administration. Paul is a resident of Puerto Rico and an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump, who also panned Bad Banny’s halftime show set as ‘absolutely terrible’ on Sunday night.
‘The problem with my tweet is the word fake being misinterpreted,’ Paul wrote on social media on Monday. ‘He’s not a fake citizen obviously bc hes Puerto Rican and I love Puerto Rico and all Americans who support the country. Moreso Bunny is fake bc of his values and criticism of our great country.’
Paul then added more context and brought up Hunter Hess, the American freestyle skiier who drew criticism from Trump and Trump supporters when he said representing the U.S. at the 2026 Winter Olympics brings up ‘mixed emotions.’ Paul’s fiancee is American speed skater Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands and races on Monday.
‘To clarify: I wasn’t calling anyone a “fake citizen” because they’re from Puerto Rico,’ Paul wrote. ‘I live in Puerto Rico, and I love Puerto Rico. I have used my platform to support Puerto Rico time and time again and will always do so. But if you’re publicly criticizing ICE who are doing their job and openly hating on America, I’m going to speak on it. Period. That’s the same reason I called out Hunter Hess. 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. And I agree love is more powerful than hate. Love America.’
Paul’s initial polarizing tweet and subsequent fact check drew widespread attention in the lead up to Bad Bunny’s performance at halftime of the Seahawks’ 29-13 win over the Patriots, with even Paul’s brother having to publicly side against a family member in the aftermath of the show.
‘I love my brother but I don’t agree with this,’ Logan Paul, the WWE star, wrote on social media over his brother’s initial post. ‘Puerto Ricans are Americans & I’m happy they were given the opportunity to showcase the talent that comes from the island.’
By 10 a.m. ET, Jake Paul sounded even more remorseful in light of the backlash he had received. He changed his bio on X to ‘Benito #1 fan, and insisted in a new tweet that, ‘I love bad bunny idk (I don’t know) what happened on my twitter last night??’