Bad Bunny says he’s ‘never felt as masculine’ as the day he did drag for the first time
Bad Bunny in drag.
Bad Bunny says he’s “never felt as masculine” as the day he did drag for the first time.
The Puerto Rican trap singer and long time LGBT+ ally, who is currently locked down with his jewellery designer girlfriend Gabriela Berlingeri in an Airbnb, wowed fans in March when he got a full drag makeover and twerked with himself in a music video.
The track, “Yo Perreo Sola” explores themes of sexual harassment that women face in Latin America and around the world, with its title translating to “I twerk alone”.
Bad Bunny told Rolling Stone magazine that getting into drag for that video was important, because the message of his song needed to come from a feminine place.
“I wrote [the song] from the perspective of a woman,” he said.
“I wanted a woman to sing it, because it doesn’t mean the same thing when a man sings it. But I do feel like that woman sometimes.”
Bad Bunny says ‘I may not be gay, but I care’.
“I have always felt like there [was] a part of me that is very feminine, he continued.
“But I never felt as masculine as I did the day I dressed up like a drag queen.”
Bad Bunny emphasised that although his performance in drag had proved controversial, it came from a place of allyship.
“I did it to show support to those who need it,” he explains. “I may not be gay, but I’m a human who cares.”
Singer explains how he first discovered drag culture.
He went on to explain how drag culture had come into his world: his cousin, a performer, came to him for advice on choosing music for his shows.
“He would come to my house so I could make his mixes,” Bad Bunny said.
“He explained the choreography to me. They were all Lady Gaga songs.”
While Bad Bunny expected the inevitable backlash that followed his drag video — “I knew there were going to be comments saying, ‘Faggott! Gay! Bad Bunny is over'” — his fans have mostly enjoyed it.
One fan in particular stands out.
“I love the video,” said Ricky Martin. “[It’s] fun, sexy, and if it’s done by Bad Bunny, it has to be provocative.”
Bad Bunny drag video wowed queer fans.
The video for his song “Yo Perreo Sola” was released on Friday, March 27, and sees the artist, known off-stage as Benito Ocasio, make multiple outfit changes including several incredible drag looks.
The song’s title means “I twerk alone”, and at one point Bad Bunny can be seen twerking with himself.
At one point, a neon sign in the video reads “ni una menos”, meaning “not one more”, a slogan used by feminists to protest gender-based violence.
The very end of the video shows a black screen with the words “si no quiere bailar contigo, respeta, ella perra sola”, which translates as “if she doesn’t want to dance with you, respect her, she’ll twerk alone”.
