Questionable Behavior From Latine Celebrities That Would Never Be Allowed in the Real World

Photo courtesy of Twitter @ATXFanatic23 Belatina, latinx
Photo courtesy of Twitter @ATXFanatic23

By now, everyone has probably seen the fiasco at last night’s Oscar event between Will Smith and Chris Rock. It’s all the buzz at the moment — that’s pop culture for you.

But popularity comes with consequences.

From getting “canceled” by social media to actually losing sponsors, there are many ways a celebrity can be affected by doing mindless acts under the Internet’s microscope. 

Almost weekly (proven true just this past weekend), we see a resurfacing tweet that was carelessly posted years ago, a private photo brought to light, or behavior none of us signed up to witness, making us question a pop culture’s figure intention over it. This isn’t a bad thing; we are here to question their intentions, especially since they influence thousands of followers with their fingertips.

Are these posts or actions actually done by accident? And would these types of behavior ever be accepted by our Latine favorites in the real world? 

Sugar-coating aside, there are times when our favorite celebrities are simply too much and seem to be asking to be checked or put in place. We still wonder, though, how are these celebrities still falling into these mistakes in this progressive era, where we question almost everything and where they have an army of assistants, publicists, and managers at their disposal? 

How are they still creating unnecessary controversies? It’s 2022, and we are past these “accidents.” That’s not going to fly anymore.

J Balvin’s blunder

One of the craziest — almost surreal — types of questionable behavior happened late last year. I am referring to Colombian singer and rapper José Álvaro Osorio Balvín, better known as J Balvin’s most recent controversial issue dealing with racism. 

J Balvin has made a series of interesting decisions in the past that have put him under heat, but this one was by far the most neglectful. The controversy surrounds the music video for his single “Perra,” which features Dominican rapper Tokischa. During the “Perra” music video, the shot under fire was of two Afro-Latine women on leashes, depicting being a “female dog” — and boy did that not sit well with his audience. I mean, how? How was anyone even comfortable shooting this scene?

As previously reported by BELatina News, the scene then got criticized by even the Vice President and Chancellor of the Republic of Colombia, Marta Lucía Ramírez, and the iconic Colombian-French feminist, Florence Thomas — and let’s not get started on the many who took the Internet to express their shocked emotions. It got to the point where the music video was taken off the Internet, re-edited, and Balvin issued a public apology. 

But again: aren’t there managers, editors, and assistants that collectively put these types of major label music videos together ever socially present? How did not one person question that a female dog portrayed by an Afro-Latine wasn’t the best idea?

I guess nobody thought twice about the scene, which to me, sparks a bigger problem. It makes me wonder if the circles that J Balvin is associated with have the same head on their shoulders — privilege — where they don’t need the capacity of thinking that these types of situations aren’t okay. 

J Balvin issued a public apology citing: “I want to say sorry to whoever felt offended, especially the Black women community. That’s not who I am. I have always expressed tolerance, love, and inclusivity. I also like to support new artists, in this case, Tokischa, a woman who supports her people, her community and also empowers women,” he shared on his social media. Furthermore, he took the video off as a “form of respect,” NBC News reported. 

Form of respect? More like a lack of decency and shame of getting publicly checked. Tokischa later said [about the music video] that “art is an expression” and that it’s about “creating a world” around the song. Well, whatever that world is, girl, you can count us out. I love Tokischa, but that type of art wouldn’t be allowed in the real world. And what’s crazier is that with that apology, it seems that J Balvin has washed his hands and continued with his music career. I guess we’re the music industry is passed it? Just like that? Uy!

Gina Rodriguez’s inconvenient comments

Another time that a Latine celebrity did something unacceptable in our average day-by-day life is when Puerto Rican-American Gina Rodriguez, not once, not twice, but multiple times, has decided to go out of her way to make racist comments. 

In an interview, she noted that Black actresses were paid more than Latine actresses, pinpointing the two minorities against each other. The problem may not be quickly recognized from the surface, but once you realize that Rodriguez has been under “cancel” investigation for other like-minded situations, you notice a pattern. 

Another time she has expressed her “lack of Latine” representation against the Black representation argument was when she tweeted asking for Latine representation when she watched Black Panther. The act of pinning minorities against each other isn’t something that would fly on our agendas. Aren’t we here to motivate and empower each other? We can 100% celebrate a win without degrading it in any way. In this case, it’s possible that Rodriguez has a positive message but doesn’t know how to execute it carefully. Again, don’t these Latine celebrities have publicists? 

Furthermore, we previously reported an incident in 2018 when Rodriguez decided to go “All-Lives-Matter” on a reporter who was simply doing their job. Rodriguez failed to yield the floor to both fellow actress Yara Shahidi the interviewer, as he posed a question specifically to Shahidi. ‘You are just goals for some many young black women who look up to you…’ he began before Rodriguez forcefully interjected: ‘So many women. Women.’ Many of her critics have described this as the moment that Rodriguez “All-Lives-Mattered” the interviewer.” 

Was she trying to make situations inclusive, or unconsciously being against giving a moment to the Black community? It’s a case that follows Rodriguez, especially as she does her press circuits. We love her acting, but what she says could get interpreted in many directions and doesn’t help her “being inclusive” image in the long run. 

These are only two of the cases that we carry with us as far as “questionable” behavior from Latine celebrities goes. We love to embrace and support our community, but we also think it’s essential to give them a reality check, especially when being racist and mindless about content that could spark others to do the same. 

Celebrities need to know that their actions have a domino effect — it’s not just “oops, my bad!” and that’s it. They have such a massive following that you never know who is being encouraged by their unthought-of racism rather than recognizing that it’s not okay. That’s why we should hold our favorites accountable — yes, let’s celebrate their wins, but also question their wrong-doings. 

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