Bad Bunny Kisses Male, Female Dancers at VMAs After Big Win

Bad Bunny on Sunday won Artist of the Year at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), but it was his live performance after collecting the trophy that had many fans talking on social media.

The Puerto Rican superstar was not present for the ceremony at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Instead, he was about 20 miles away in The Bronx, New York, at Yankee Stadium. Former New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony presented Bad Bunny with the Artist of the Year trophy on the stage there, and the musician soon performed his hit "Tití Me Preguntó" for the telecast.

On a night full of surprises—Johnny Depp making a cameo as a (VMAs mascot) Moon Man, Taylor Swift announcing a new album—Bunny still managed to stun many people with his performance. However, it wasn't his infectious song that caused much of the online chatter afterwards. Instead, social media was buzzing about Bunny kissing a male backup dancer on the lips after he first kissed a female dancer.

The kisses led to social media speculation about the musician's sexuality, which he has never openly discussed. Though he's never addressed the topic, Bad Bunny has been called a queer icon by some people, including Ricky Martin. During a 2020 interview with Rolling Stone, Martin—a fellow superstar from Puerto Rico—referred to Bunny as "an icon for the Latin queer community."

Bunny's Un Verano Sin Ti spent several weeks on top of the Billboard 200 chart, and it's also been a runaway success on streaming platforms. The album features a mix of musical styles, including Latin trap, reggaeton, cumbia and pop.

Bunny has shown support for LGBTQ+ rights in the past. In 2019, he condemned comments made by fellow Puerto Rican musician Don Omar about rival singer Ozuna as homophobic. A year later, he appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon wearing a skirt that included a message about the recent murder of a transgender woman in Puerto Rico.

While the kiss he shared with a male dancer on Sunday resulted in some homophobic comments on Twitter, Bunny also received a good deal of support from fans.

One person tweeted that he "heard Bad Bunny kissed a man, good for him."

"Why yall upset about Bad Bunny kissing a guy...yall mad cause he aint kiss you? ... Let him be..His choice," said another Twitter user.

A number of people indicated that the conversation should really be about the star's music.

"I did NOT freak out seeing him kiss another guy I was just like 'Hell yeah bad bunny is performing.' That's all," read one tweet.

Others, though, were simply jealous.

"Where is my kiss from Bad Bunny?" wrote a fan.

Newsweek reached out to Bad Bunny for comment.