Reggaeton pop superstar Bad Bunny is facing criticism after it was revealed he used private charter flights operated by a company that also contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation flights.
The controversy stems from recent social media posts showing Bad Bunny disembarking from a Global X jet bearing the logo of a private charter company. Critics on social media pointed out that the same company operates flights for ICE, including those used to transport undocumented immigrants facing deportation.
The use of private jets for government contracts has been criticized for its lack of transparency and accountability.
A secretive ICE division oversees hundreds of annual deportation flights, costing taxpayers $1 billion in the past decade, according to reporting from the Associated Press in 2018. ICE Air Operations handles these transfers, detaining and transporting roughly 100,000 individuals yearly, AP said in the article.
Bad Bunny’s association with a company linked to ICE raises questions about the potential impact of his actions on the communities he advocates for. The singer is known for his socially conscious lyrics and activism, making the criticism particularly noteworthy.
“Bad Bunny has expressed some progressive positions on some issues in the past, such as the political climate in his hometown Puerto Rico. People that have that level of power to influence mass culture, do have a responsibility to use that platform to support progressive change,” Maru Mora-Villalpando, founder and adviser of grassroots organization La Resistencia, said.
Along with his celeb status, Bad Bunny has a major influence on his fans and others around the world.
In 2020, he brought attention to Alexa Negrón Luciano, a homeless transgender woman who was shot and killed in Puerto Rico for using a women’s bathroom, during a performance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. He said later that he felt a responsibility to address gender-based…
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