Bad Bunny has revealed why he won’t be touring the United States.
If you are in the US and were hoping to get down to the Dakiti rapper’s set for his 2025-2026 tour, we've got some bad news.
The Puerto Rican hitmaker has claimed that he won’t be performing in the US during his Debi Tirar Mas Fotos concert tour for one particular reason.
Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, has been receiving much-deserved attention for his music, and also his acting skills for the last couple of years now.
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His Shrek Saturday Night Live skit was one of the most popular with fans, which saw him pitched the idea of a live-action Shrek movie, starring himself.
His funny moments have been welcomed by his US fans, but unfortunately, they won’t be getting his live music any time soon.
Why? Because of politics.
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US president Donald Trump has been ramping up his efforts to deport those with a criminal past or residing in the country illegally.
With Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents able to abduct and deport people of interest on the streets, the rapper is said to be apprehensive about his fans congregating.
Saying the enforcement ‘could be outside’ his shows in the US, he said he won’t risk it.
“There were many reasons why I didn’t show up in the US, and none of them were out of hate – I’ve performed there many times,” he told I-D in an interview published Wednesday (10 September).
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“All of [the shows] have been successful. All of them have been magnificent. I’ve enjoyed connecting with Latinos who have been living in the US,” he said. “But specifically, for a residency here in Puerto Rico, when we are an unincorporated territory of the US…People from the US could come here to see the show.”
The rapper said he was 'very concerned’ ICE might band together to wait outside of his shows for people to deport.
“Latinos and Puerto Ricans of the United States could also travel here, or to any part of the world,” Bad Bunny said. “But there was the issue of – like, f***ing ICE could be outside. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
He previously spoke about his hesitation to play in the US, when he spoke to Variety in June.
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He simply said: “It’s unnecessary.”
To this, fans have had mixed reactions online, but most people think it’s a good choice.
One Reddit, someone wrote: “Protecting his fans!!! He seems like a rly good guy.”
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Another wrote: “Valid.”
A user said: “Good man.”
Someone else said: “Very valid response to it. He obviously has a very large amount of Latin American fans (duh), and this would be an excuse for these masked failures to show up and take people.”
On Monday, 8 September, the supreme court granted federal agents the ability to stop people in Los Angeles for speaking Spanish or appearing to be Latino.
Across the US, Latino gatherings have been cancelled, in case it attracts ICE agents,
For example, Philadelphia’s Carnaval de Puebla, religious congregations in San Bernardino, and a Colombian independence day festival in Kansas have all been cancelled in light of the threat ICE poses.
“You only have to look a certain way and speak a certain language and then you’re in danger,” the festival’s organiser, Orlando Gutierrez, told the Guardian.
While US citizens can’t see Bad Bunny locally, they could head to Puerto Rico to watch him perform in his home nation.
Topics: Music, Donald Trump, Politics, US News
Britt Jones