Bad Bunny’s latest music video is a fun ode to Puerto Rico’s beaches and party scene, at least throughout its opening minutes. Afterward, the clip serves as an introduction for a 20-minute documentary that tackles Puerto Rican displacement, and how figures like Logan Paul contribute to this, reaping the benefits of the island while pushing natives out of their homes.
In a new podcast, Paul addresses the video, saying that Bad Bunny is “hypocritical” since he’s reaping the same benefits that he is. This isn’t true.
Paul made his comments while speaking with Philip DeFranco. “Bad Bunny is a Puerto Rican, living in Puerto Rico who is privately taking advantage of the same tax program he’s publicly condemning,” said Paul. “Is that true?” DeFranco asks.
“I know this. And I see things like this and it hurts. There are local Puerto Ricans that know about this.” Paul adds that the fact that he’s been stuck in the middle of the protest video makes him look like a “vulture.” “While I love Bad Bunny, I cannot personally support the hypocritical nature of his exploitation.” At the end of the clip, DeFranco asks the people in the room if Paul just accused Bad Bunny of tax fraud.
The ruling in question is called Act 22 and it’s a tax break that foreign residents can qualify for, exempting them from paying taxes on cryptocurrency, stocks, and real estate. The break was initially introduced as a way to boost the island’s economy.
© GettyImagesThe documentary featured in the music video is called “Aqui Vive Gente” and it highlights the current situation in Puerto Rico, including the damage that the tax break has caused, resulting in wealthy Americans moving to the island and displacing natives.
As a native Puerto Rican that lives on the island, Bad Bunny doesn’t qualify for the same tax break, something that people made clear online. “Using an actual Puerto Rican native to deflect is crazy lmfao. Bad Bunny is not the one contributing to gentrification in Puerto Rico like Logan Paul is,” wrote a user.
Paul has been living on the island for the past year and a half. Last year, he was criticized after he drove a beach buggy down the beach during turtle nesting season, with the local department of Natural and Environmental Resources claiming that they would be completing an investigation on the matter.
