What To Know About The Bad Bunny And Kendall Jenner Dating Rumors: Why They’ve Sparked Internet Jokes—And Angered Some Fans
Benito #Benito
Topline
Rumors the Puerto Rican musician and American model are dating have circled the internet for weeks, with many poking fun at the unexpected pair’s compatibility and some fans criticizing Bad Bunny—whose lyrics have criticized non-Latin people adopting Latin culture—for his alleged relationship with Jenner—whose family has long been accused of cultural appropriation.
The first rumors of Bad Bunny and Kendall Jenner’s relationship hit the internet in February, when celebrity gossip social media account DeuxMoi claimed eyewitnesses spotted the pair kissing in a Los Angeles club.
Jenner and Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, were spotted together on February 18 leaving a restaurant (where they reportedly dined with Justin and Hailey Bieber) and again on March 8, hugging and kissing after leaving a sushi restaurant.
The pair’s most recent sighting was on April 4 at Hidden Hills Equestrian Center in California, where they were photographed riding horses together.
Some TikTok earned hundreds of thousands of likes joking about their compatibility, with some imagining awkward dates between the two because of their language barrier (Bad Bunny told TIME he’s still learning English, and Jenner is not known to speak Spanish).
Bad Bunny declined to comment on the dating rumors in a March TIME interview and said he’s not bothered by fans who are angered by the relationship, stating they can find other artists to listen to.
He also walked back some lyrics for his 2022 song “El Apagón”—in which he sings that people trying to take advantage of Puerto Rico’s land and culture lack sazón (roughly seasoning, or flavor)—telling TIME he was upset at the time he wrote it but now supports people embracing his culture if they do it with respect.
Chief Critic
Bad Bunny faced some social media backlash from fans for disavowing his “El Apagón” lyrics. One user posted a screenshot of the TIME article, writing: “this ain’t the benito i know,” with more than 1,000 quote retweets, many similarly expressing disappointment with the artist. “To go from singing about cultural appropriation to dating one of the members of the biggest cultural appropriating families is insane. but to retract your words about the appropriation is even more insane,” one user tweeted, garnering 16,000 likes. The Jenner-Kardashian family have been frequently accused of cultural appropriation, including Kendall Jenner herself, who faced backlash in 2021 for launching her own tequila brand, 818. Some criticized Jenner for profiting off of a traditional Mexican drink and for a photoshoot where she wore a cowboy hat and a loose-fitting cotton shirt over a tank top while posing with a horse—a look some said evoked stereotypes of Mexican field workers. The Kardashian-Jenner family has also been accused of adopting Black women’s fashion aesthetics and hairstyles and using excessive skin-darkening makeup (often called “blackfishing”). Citing Jenner’s tequila brand controversy, fan Masaya Gurdian told Refinery29 Bad Bunny is “associating himself with a woman who has shown that she does not respect the Latine community.” Media scholar Vanessa Diaz, who is teaching a course on Bad Bunny at Loyola University Maryland, told Refinery29 fans may be struggling to understand the relationship because the two stars have very different fan bases.
Crucial Quote
“For many Latina fans venting their grievances online, Bad Bunny’s recent dates with Jenner force them to think about the possibilities and limits of popular culture and what happens when the icons we love don’t love us back,” Jillian Hernandez, a women’s and gender studies scholar who studies Black and Latinx identities, wrote for Refinery29.
Key Background
Bad Bunny, a Puerto Rican rapper and singer, has burst into the global mainstream in recent years with reggaeton and Latin pop hits. He has released four studio albums, including his most recent, Un Verano Sin Ti in 2022, which topped the Billboard 200 year-end chart as the best-selling album of the year and scored an Album of the Year nomination at the Grammys, the first Spanish-language album to accomplish both feats. He’s known for proudly representing his Puerto Rican heritage and has emerged as a political icon on the island: He participated in protests in 2019 to demand the resignation of scandal-plagued former Governor Ricardo Rosselló and has released music videos lambasting the island’s corruption issues and ongoing electricity and housing crises.
Tangent
DeuxMoi reported last week Kylie Jenner and actor Timothée Chalamet are rumored to be dating, just days after Page Six reported the pair were spotted at dinner with Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny. The dating rumors were another shock to social media users: “Kylie Jenner and Timothee Chalamet dating is even more random than Kendall and Benito,” one user tweeted, garnering 11,000 likes.
Further Reading
Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny: A Timeline of Their Rumored Relationship (Glamour)
Bad Bunny’s Next Move (TIME)
Bad Bunny Fans Are Upset — & Not Just About the Kendall Jenner Dating Rumors (Refinery29)