Bad Bunny-JLo endorse Harris following racist remarks at Trump rally
Latin music icons Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez, and Ricky Martin have come out in support of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. This comes after a controversial incident where stand-up comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made a derogatory joke about Puerto Rico at a rally for Donald Trump on Sunday. The rally at New York's Madison Square Garden saw Hinchcliffe making offensive remarks about Latinos, Jews, and Black people.
Hinchcliffe's joke and an immediate backlash from Harris's campaign
During his performance, Hinchcliffe said, "I don't know if you guys know this, but there's literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it's called Puerto Rico." The comment was immediately condemned by Harris's campaign as they are now competing for Puerto Rican communities in Pennsylvania and other swing states ahead of the upcoming election.
Bad Bunny's Instagram response to Hinchcliffe's remarks
Reacting to the incident, Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny took to Instagram—where he has a following of 45.6M users. He posted a video of Harris criticizing Trump for his handling of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. The clip showed Harris saying, "There is so much at stake in this election for Puerto Rican voters." "And this election is not just a choice between Trump and me. It is a choice between two very different visions for our nation."
Lopez and Martin also showed support for Harris
Lopez and Martin, both of Puerto Rican descent, also took to their respective Instagram accounts to support Harris. Lopez posted a portion of Harris's video and a screenshot of her plan to help Puerto Rico. Martin posted the same but added a clip of Hinchcliffe making his offensive joke.
Reactions from other public figures and organizations
New York Congressman Ritchie Torres, who is also Puerto Rican, took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his disgust, saying calling Hinchcliffe "racist garbage" would be an insult to garbage. He asked Latinos not to forget the racism Trump seems quite willing to platform when they cast their ballots. Separately, the Democratic organization Battleground New York released a statement on Sunday night about the rally, calling the speeches "a torrent of unhinged crazy, racism and xenophobia."
