American pro-boxer Jake Paul tried his all to shred Puerto Rican mega-star Bad Bunny ahead of his Super Bowl performance on Sunday (US time). Taking to his official social media account, the far-right-leaning influencer urged viewers to turn off the Halftime Show.

Given the King of Latin Trap’s vocal criticism of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Paul went on to drag the rapper by branding him a “fake American citizen.”

His verbal attack on Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, didn’t land well on the Internet. Many netizens didn’t just remind the boxer of Puerto Rico’s status as a US territory, they also hit him with the reality check that he lives on the very same Caribbean island.

What Jake Paul wrote about Bad Bunny

On the day of Super Bowl 60, Paul announced on social media he was “purposefully turning off the halftime show” in his attempt to “show big corporations they can’t just do whatever they want without consequences.”

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He fumed online: “You are their benefit. Realise you have power. Turn off this halftime. A fake American citizen performing who publicly hates America. I cannot support that.”

Jake Paul gets flak for ‘fake American citizen’ dig at Bad Bunny

Countless others, including famed social media personalities, hit out against the influencer-boxer on X. YouTubers Connor Franta and Tyler Oakley blatantly called Paul out for his remarks in the comments section.

Franta said: “What’s it like to live with a brain deprived of oxygen? I’m curious.” In a follow-up comment, he shook Paul hard with a reality check, “Also you live in puerto rico to avoid taxes you hypocritical ignorant cauliflower ear f*ck.”

Meanwhile, Oakley wrote, “Ohhhhhhhhhh (me realizing you have brain damage)”

California Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office also joined the conversation to slam the Trump-loving boxer. “He’s such a little MAGA snowflake,” @GovPressOffice tweeted.

Democratic influencer Harry Sisson also fanned the fire by commenting, “You’re such a f*cking snowflake.”

Politician Christine Villaverde, who is running for Secretary of State (North Carolina), also hit back: “Calling Puerto Ricans “fake Americans” is discriminatory nonsense—they’ve been US citizens since 1917, so if you need a civics lesson to understand that geography and language don’t determine who’s “really” American, that says more about your ignorance than their authenticity.”

YouTuber-gamer Mightykeef was yet another person who called out Paul for calling a native Puerto Rican a “fake American” despite having “moved to Puerto Rico to evade taxes.”

Even his brother, Logan Paul, has since called out for his “fake American” swipe at Bad Bunny despite his own stretched-out feud with the singer. “I love my brother but I don’t agree with this,” he wrote on X. “Puerto Ricans are Americans & I’m happy they were given the opportunity to showcase the talent that comes from the island.”

Why is Jake Paul being called a hypocrite for Bad Bunny rant?

Jake and his equally famous pro-MAGA brother Logan Paul moved to Puerto Rico in 2021 to leverage tax benefits, the latter announced in an interview with Graham Bensinger in 2024.

Explaining how he and his brother were motivated by financial incentives and lifestyle preference to relocate to Puerto Rico in 2021, Logan said at the time: “It was a change of lifestyle that I needed. It was very fitting for my lifestyle that is now of Athletics and locked in combat sports. And the tax incentive is an incredible cherry on top.”

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In 2021, Logan broke the news that he was leaving California in an episode of his own podcast ‘Impaulsive.’ At the time, he justified the switch, saying, “it’s getting crazy here in California, paying taxes.”

Paul has repeatedly defended himself against the “coloniser” criticism by asserting that he and his brother Jake have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Puerto Rico.

Back in 2022, Logan Paul had even wrongly accused Bad Bunny of “taking advantage” of the same tax law he’d criticised in a documentary (‘El Apagón – Aquí Vive Gente’) released around the time. Contrary to Paul’s claims, Benito, who is a native Puerto Rican living on the island, wouldn’t be eligible for the same tax incentives as wealthy foreigners, as per the Business Insider.

The tax law in question is called the Puerto Rico Act 22, aka the “Act to Promote the Relocation of Individual Investors to Puerto Rico.” As per the official IRS website, it “provides an exemption from Puerto Rican income tax for certain interest and dividends sourced in Puerto Rico and provides reduced income tax rates for individuals who newly establish residence in Puerto Rico.”

Fuelling his years-long feud with the Puerto Rican rapper, Logan also recently gave a clear one-word response when asked if he’d be tuning in for Bad Bunny’s Halftime Show. He outrightly told Fox News Digital “No” at the Fanatics Super Bowl party ahead of the championship game on Sunday.