Over the weekend, YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul stirred controversy with some comments aimed at Super Bowl LX halftime headliner Bad Bunny. Now, it appears Paul is attempting to backpedal on those statements.<\/p>\n
Ahead of Sunday\u2019s Super Bowl matchup between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, Paul urged viewers to boycott the halftime show altogether, labeling Bad Bunny as a \u201cfake American citizen\u201d who \u201cpublicly hates America.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPurposefully turning off the halftime show. Let\u2019s rally together and show big corporations they can\u2019t just do whatever they want without consequences (which equals viewership for them),\u201d Paul wrote in a post on X<\/a>. \u201cYou are their benefit. Realize you have power. Turn off this halftime. A fake American citizen performing who publicly hates America. I cannot support that.\u201d<\/p>\n Paul appeared to be implying that Bad Bunny was a \u201cfake American citizen\u201d because he is from Puerto Rico. After facing backlash for the comment, especially considering Paul himself lives in Puerto Rico, he slightly shifted his stance, claiming his original message had been \u201cmisinterpreted.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe problem with my tweet is the word fake being misinterpreted,\u201d Paul wrote in a follow-up post<\/a>. \u201cHe\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTo clarify: I wasn\u2019t calling anyone a \u2018fake citizen\u2019 because they\u2019re from Puerto Rico. 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\u2019re publicly criticizing ICE who are doing their job and openly hating on America, I\u2019m going to speak on it. Period. That\u2019s 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\u2019s what I mean by being a fake citizen. And I agree love is more powerful than hate. Love America,\u201d Paul added in another post<\/a>.<\/p>\n Despite repeatedly taking shots at Bad Bunny and standing by the claim that he was a \u201cfake citizen\u201d who \u201chates America,\u201d Paul then abruptly reversed course in yet another post.<\/p>\n