Bad Bunny Speaks Out About Phonegate, Says ‘Bro, That Cellphone Didn’t Break’
Bad Bunny is finally speaking out about the moment that nearly broke the internet at the beginning of the year — and lent new meaning to “empezar el 2023 bien cabrón.”
Yes, the “Moscow Mule” star is finally sharing his perspective on throwing a woman’s cellphone in the Dominican Republic in January, insisting, “Bro, that cellphone didn’t break.”
The Vega Baja-born singer sat down with Rolling Stone to shed light on his life as a full-blown megastar living out fame, fortune and “cabronería” in between Los Angeles and Puerto Rico. Did he give us any juicy chisme on his possible situationship with Kendall Jenner? No — but he did spill the tea on the phone incident that occurred right after New Year’s Day.
Crazily enough, Bad Bunny told the outlet he believes the woman still has the phone. He laughed, “She should upload the video.” What parallel universe is this? Wasn’t her cellphone tossed into the ocean like that piece of jewelry in Britney Spears’ “Oops!… I Did It Again” video?
Well, an astronaut might have rescued her phone, too, because Bad Bunny assures she still has it. Let’s dive in!
Bad Bunny says that 2023 started with “cabronería,” referencing the outrage against his cellphone incident
The “Dakiti” star recalled to Rolling Stone, “Before 2022 was over, I said in an interview, ‘2023 is going to be for me, to rest, to work on my physical health, on my mental health, to have my space, to enjoy, to be happy.’”
Plot twist — it didn’t exactly start that way. He explained, “And then 2023 starts with cabronería.”
By January 2, news broke that El Conejo Malo threw a fan’s cellphone while walking through La Marina de Casa de Campo in La Romana, Dominican Republic.
You can see the video of the moment here, which shows the fan eagerly trying to take a selfie with the star. Someone says, “She just wants to hug you.” The fan laughs and smiles, getting very close to the singer before he throws her phone like a missile.
An onlooker asks, “Wow, for real?” while Bad Bunny repeats, “Respect my space.” Ouch.
Well, it was the cellphone shatter heard around the world, causing outcry among fans and media outlets alike. While some thought Benito would be canceled after the incident, he took to Twitter to share a bit of his perspective on what happened.
In a since-deleted tweet, he wrote, “The person who comes close to me to say hi, tell me something, or just get to know me, will always receive my respect and attention.”
“Those that come and put a phone in my face, I’ll consider them for who they are,” he warned. “A lack of respect and I’ll treat them that way.”
The singer clarified in a recent interview that the woman’s phone “didn’t break”
Fast-forward to this month’s Rolling Stone cover story, it was time for El Conejo Malo to clear phonegate up for good. So what happened?
He recalled, “People were recording… I love going to D.R., so I was waving to everyone, like, ‘Que lo que!’ ”
Things changed once the woman approached him and put the cellphone in front of his face. “That person got right on me, leaned directly on my body.” Seconds later, he threw her phone.
Even if it didn’t seem like it from his prior statement, Bad Bunny did feel bad about the incident. He said he felt bad about throwing the phone “the next day.”
Still, he asserted, “Bro, that cellphone didn’t break. It exists. It bothers me that people haven’t said that.”
So, according to the reggaetonero, that cellphone is alive and well. But did it ever go into the water? According to him, it stayed on dry land.
“I didn’t throw that phone into the water. I threw it into some bushes,” he explained.
He later added with a laugh, “She has it. She should upload the video.”
Well, that settles that — for now. All we know is that the woman’s phone probably looked a bit like this after being thrown:
And we 10/10 don’t recommend getting too close to the singer with a cellphone:
