In response to the backlash, Rosalía says her recent comment about Bad Bunny was taken out of context.
During a recent appearance on the New York Times' Popcast, the singer was asked a question about Bad Bunny choosing to intentionally perform in Spanish despite having many fans who don’t understand the language.
"I think I'm the opposite of Benito,” the singer said near the 33-minute mark in the video linked here. “I think I care. I care so much that definitely I’m going to make the effort to sing in a language that's not my language. It's not my comfort zone."
Her remark, meant to highlight her decision to record parts of her new multilingual album LUX, was widely interpreted as a critique of Bad Bunny's statement that he doesn't mind if non-Spanish speakers don't understand his lyrics.
The distinction quickly went viral, with fans of the Puerto Rican star (born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio) defending him and framing his choice to sing only in Spanish as a cultural and political stance.
One Latina fan, TikTok user @rina_see_me, posted a video saying, "You are the opposite of Benito … Because the reason why he decides to only sing music in Spanish is because he's standing up for his culture. Something you cannot relate to because, what? You are not a Latina, you're Spaniard."
She accused Rosalía, whose 2022 Motomami album featured reggaeton, bachata, and merengue on hits like “Saoko,” “La Fama,” and “Despechá,” of benefiting from Latino culture without understanding its roots.
“You came over here, you speak Spanish, we listen to your music, we embraced it, whatever. You're not a Latina and yet you have benefited from the Latino culture. So you should be able to stand up for it, but it does not surprise me that you're just like, … 'Not my circus, not my monkeys,'” Rina concluded.
Rosalía later responded directly in the comments of the video before deleting her reply, which Rina later reshared for her followers.
Writing in Spanish, she said, "Hey, I understand your point of view but I think it's being taken out of context. I have nothing but love and respect for Benito, he’s a great colleague that I admire whom I’ve been lucky to collaborate with… I’ve always been grateful to Latin America because, despite coming from another place, the Latin people have always supported me throughout my career and I empathize with what you’re explaining. Precisely for that reason, it saddens me that this is being misinterpreted because that wasn’t the intention.”
Rosalía’s new album LUX arrives on November 7.