Bad Bunny Fans Dispute Queerbaiting Accusations After VMAs Kiss

If you were anywhere near Twitter on Sunday evening, you probably saw some chatter about the Grammy winner's bombastic performance of his hit song, "Tití Me Preguntó," which made headlines after he shared a kiss with one of his male backup dancers — to mixed reactions.

Bad Bunny kissed his male dancer during his performance of “Tití Me Preguntó” at the #VMAs. pic.twitter.com/i79z9mxPCY

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) August 29, 2022

Despite there being plenty of online praise, there were also a fair amount of detractors who took to the comments with accusations of queerbaiting, as Bad Bunny — who's also known for his gender-bending sartorial sense — has been dating jewelry designer Gabriela Berlingeri for the past five years. But in light of the critique, a number of fans were quick to come to his defense by providing some important context, namely about the current state of LGBTQ+ affairs in the Puerto Rican superstar's hometown of San Juan.

As one Twitter user pointed out, Bad Bunny's same-sex kiss was "monumental" in the sense that it happened a few days after two female artists — Villano Antillano and Tokischa — were criticized "to the point of death threats" for sharing a kiss during a recent show in San Juan.

"bad bunny kissing a male backup dancer was probably in response to how earlier this week, puerto rican media and some in the reggaeton space were outraged by a kiss between villano antillano and tokischa," as another person wrote, prior to stating that "calling him a queerbaiter is not the serve y’all think."

Bad Bunny’s (@sanbenito) kiss with a man was monumental but it also needs to be contextualized. It took place barely a few days after Villano Antillano (@villanomalandro) and Tokischa were publicly criticized (to the point of death threats) for kissing at a show in San Juan.

— J.Meléndez-Badillo (@jorellmelendezb) August 29, 2022

Meanwhile, a third supporter argued that Bad Bunny has always been a vocal supporter of the Latin American LGBTQ+ community and speculated that "this kiss was in solidarity with queer latina rappers," before quipping that "Harry styles' musty ass wishes he could be him."

bad bunny kissing a male backup dancer was probably in response to how earlier this week, puerto rican media and some in the reggaeton space were outraged by a kiss between villano antillano and tokischa. calling him a queerbaiter is not the serve y’all think.. pic.twitter.com/3aSjSJC8Mj

— fico (@puertofico) August 29, 2022

Bad bunny payed tribute to the murder of a Mexican trans woman in one of his songs and this kiss was in solidarity with queer latina rappers, villano antillano and tokischa, kissing onstage and facing outrage. Harry styles' musty ass wishes he could be him! https://t.co/COa5GBghEk

— v ✩ sandman era (@batsfugitive) August 29, 2022

That said, Bad Bunny has yet to comment on the discourse. In the meantime though, you can watch his entire performance of "Tití Me Preguntó" at the 2022 VMAs below.

Photo via Getty / Noam Galai