Rapper Bad Bunny has sparked controversy after throwing a fan’s phone away while he was in the Dominican Republic. The video of the incident, which has gone viral, shows the singer walking down a street when he is approached by the fan. She lifts the front camera of her phone to their faces for a selfie and seems to try to get a photo for a couple of seconds before he snatches it from her and flings it into the distance.
Bad Bunny is under fire for throwing away a fan’s phone after they violated his personal space in the Dominican Republic. pic.twitter.com/bz1LsMz8Oz
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) January 2, 2023
The fan’s plight got a lot of laughs online, but many people expressed displeasure at how Bad Bunny handled the situation. They felt he was being rude, and that the situation did not warrant such a reaction. However, he later tweeted a justification for his actions, saying that he felt disrespected by the fan. The tweet reads, “The person who comes up to me to say hello, to tell me something, or just to meet me, will always receive my attention and respect. Those who come to put a damn phone in my face, I will consider it for what it is, a lack of respect, and I will treat it likewise.”
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
The incident has sparked a debate on the privacy and space that celebrities are entitled to. Although they lead very different and much more public lives than the ordinary individual, there is a line that fans must not cross. If Bad Bunny was not a celebrity constantly in the limelight, would it be okay to flash a camera in his face without his consent? Most people wouldn’t think so.
When Gigi Hadid was leaving the 2016 Milan Fashion Week, a fan slipped past security and grabbed her, attempting to pick her up. The model jumped to action impressively quick and elbowed him in the face. Miley Cyrus faced something similar during a concert in 2011, when a fan jumped onto stage and tried to grab her. Thankfully, security got ahold of him just in time. Bad Bunny’s incident was far less life threatening than these could have been. But it does point to a fundamental issue with fans’ mentality. Because celebrities are more accessible to us than the average person, fans start believing they can invade their personal space, be it physically or online.
Wether Bad Bunny’s reaction took things a little too far is debatable. His sentiment, however, still stands. In that moment, he felt disrespected and commodified, so he reacted. Paparazzi and fans both need to be more cognizant of the fact that they are interacting with real human beings, who might feel offended or unsafe by an invasion of their privacy.
