Latin Superstar Bad Bunny’s Shirt Honors Slain Trans Woman
Bad Bunny knows how to make a fashion statement.
Appearing this week on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the Latin trap and reggaeton singer paid tribute to Alexa Negrón Luciano, a homeless transgender woman who was brutally murdered in his native Puerto Rico.
Luciano was reportedly shot to death Monday near San Juan following complaints that she had spied on customers in a women's restroom at McDonald's. (When questioned by police, she gave her name as Neulisa Luciano Ruiz.) Gov. Wanda Vázquez said the murder will be investigated as a hate crime.
Presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren tweeted about Luciano's murder, and fellow Democratic candidate Mike Bloomberg referenced her death this week during a private call with trans leaders.
During his Tonight Show performance of “Ignorantes” with Sech, Bad Bunny, a.k.a. Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, rocked a black skirt and a T-shirt that read "Mataron a Alexa, no a un hombre con falda," or "They killed Alexa, not a man in a skirt." A police report misgendered the 27-year-old victim as a "man dressed in a black skirt."
A new Los Angeles Times profile notes that the 25-year-old performer, who recently appeared in the Super Bowl halftime show with Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, has included trans women and same-sex couples in his music videos. He also called out fellow reggaeton star Don Omar on social media for making homophobic comments.
“It does not define me,” Bad Bunny said of his own sexuality. “At the end of the day, I don’t know if in 20 years I will like a man. One never knows in life. But at the moment I am heterosexual and I like women.”
Watch his performance on The Tonight Show below.