Too Close: Rapper Bad Bunny Throws Fan’s Phone, Defends Himself From Backlash

Rapper Bad Bunny defended himself from backlash after video surfaced showing the performer taking a fan’s phone and throwing it into the distance after they got too close.

The 28-year-old rapper, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, said he has no problem with fans wanting to meet him, but shared that if they disrespect him, he will disrespect them back.

“Anyone who comes up to me to say hello, to tell me something, or just to meet me, will always receive my attention and respect,” Bunny wrote in a tweet translated by Variety.

“But those who come to put a damn phone in my face, I’ll consider that what it is: a lack of respect and I’ll treat that the same way,” he added.

La persona que se acerque a mi a saludarme, a decirme algo, o solo conocerme, siempre recibirá mi atención y respeto. Los que vengan a ponerme un cabrón teléfono en la cara lo consideraré como lo que es, una falta de respeto y así mismo lo trataré yo. #SINCOJONESMETIENE

— ☀️?❤️ (@sanbenito) January 2, 2023

In the video, the Puerto Rican rapper can be seen walking in the Dominican Republic surrounded by a group of fans and his team. A girl appears to step in front of him, putting a camera in his face in an apparent attempt to record their interaction.

With the camera open and front-facing, the female fan holds the phone in front of the singer, who is then seen grabbing it and launching it toward the waterway. The fan looks shocked as the singer continues walking.

One person off-camera can be overheard saying, “Wow! Really?”

Someone in the rapper’s entourage then replied, “You have to respect his space,” the outlet noted.

At the time of this publication, the video had been seen 10 million times.

Reading through the comments under the viral video, there was a mix of critics and defenders of the artist, with some saying that he had a “right to set his boundaries,” but others who thought that, considering his position as a top artist, he should’ve used his words instead, the outlet noted.

Billboard recently crowned Bunny the top artist of 2022, in addition to his album Un Verano Sin Ti scoring Top Album of the Year, Entertainment Weekly noted.

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