Jake Paul has been facing a lot of backlash online after he made a controversial remark about Bad Bunny. The YouTuber called him a “fake American,” and he is now explaining what he meant. Paul’s comment came during the Super Bowl halftime show last night, where Bad Bunny performed.
Jake Paul went on social media and asked his viewers to ‘switch off’ his performance. He claimed that he “purposefully” turned off the Super Bowl halftime show. “Let’s rally together and show big corporations they can’t just do whatever they want without consequences (which equals viewership for them),” said Paul.
Purposefully turning off the halftime show
Let’s rally together and show big corporations they can’t just do whatever they want without consequences
(which equals viewership for them)
You are their benefit. Realize you have power.
Turn off this halftime. A fake American…
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) February 8, 2026
He continued, “You are their benefit. Realize you have power. Turn off this halftime. A fake American citizen (…) who publicly hates America. I cannot support that.” His comments came during the 14-minute show, which Bad Bunny performed completely in Spanish to honor his Puerto Rican heritage amid the ongoing immigration crackdown.
The previous weekend, during his historic Grammy win, Bad Bunny ended the speech with a call for “ICE out.” As Jake Paul’s remarks about his performance have drawn backlash, he returned to X to explain what he meant by the ‘fake American’ statement.
“To clarify: I wasn’t calling anyone a ‘fake citizen’ because they’re from Puerto Rico. I live in Puerto Rico, and I love Puerto Rico. I have used my platform to support Puerto Rico time and time again and will always do so,” said Jake Paul.
He continued, “But if you’re publicly criticizing ICE who are doing their job and openly hating on America, I’m going to speak on it. Period. That’s the same reason I called out Hunter Hess. If you benefit from a country and the platform it gives you, but publicly disrespect it at the same time, that’s what I mean by being a fake citizen.”
To clarify: I wasn’t calling anyone a “fake citizen” because they’re from Puerto Rico. I live in Puerto Rico, and I love Puerto Rico. I have used my platform to support Puerto Rico time and time again and will always do so.
But if you’re publicly criticizing ICE who are doing…
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) February 9, 2026
“I agree, love is more powerful than hate. Love America,” Jake Paul said. The YouTuber and his brother, Logan Paul, have lived in Dorado, Puerto Rico, since 2021. The pair was actually born in Cleveland, Ohio.
Discussing the tax rates in Puerto Rico, Logan once said, “In Puerto Rico, you are motivated to do more and make more money because of the implications that come with that.” He added, “It is 96 percent of the reasons (taxes), which is the same amount of money that you keep each year if you live in Puerto Rico,” according to Sporting News.
