Bad Bunny Says He Has ‘Many Goals’ in Acceptance Speech as Super Bowl Backlash Mounts

Bad Bunny won top honors at the Latin Billboard Awards on Thursday, October 23 — even though his reputation with some irate football fans is hitting rock bottom.

During the ceremony, held at the James L Knight Center in Miami, Florida, Rita Moreno presented the 31-year-old artist with the Top Latin Artist of the 21st Century Award.

After being handed the trophy from the iconic West Side Story actress, 93, the Puerto Rican rapper (who took home a total of 11 awards Thursday evening) delivered a passionate speech in Spanish.

“For me, it’s an honor to receive this award from your hands. I respect you and admire you so much,” Bad Bunny said to Moreno (as translated to English via The Hollywood Reporter). “Every time I hear other artists speak as you did of me, it tells me that doing things from a good place and with your heart, it’s always the best decision.”

“I know how much I have worked and not just me but my whole team,” he continued. “At the same time, I’m 100 percent aware that any one of my colleagues could have been given this award.”

Per Billboard, the “Alambre Púa” singer added, “I consider myself a young man who continues to dream, with many goals and things to do.”

Bad Bunny (real name: Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio) did not venture into any political issues, though his upcoming performance at the Super Bowl LX halftime show — which will likely be performed with Spanish lyrics — has been a hot topic since he was announced as headliner last month.

A recent petition on Change.org even requests the NFL to replace Bad Bunny with country music legend George Strait because, it states, the rapper’s “drag performances and style are the opposite of what families expect on football’s biggest stage.”

In a profile with i-D published in September, Bad Bunny was asked why he wouldn’t be performing at any concerts in the United States and if it was “out of concern about [the mass deportations of] Latinos in the United States.”

“Man, honestly, yes. There were many reasons why I didn’t show up in the U.S., and none of them were out of hate — I’ve performed there many times,” he answered. “All of [the shows] have been successful. All of them have been magnificent. I’ve enjoyed connecting with Latinos who have been living in the U.S.”

“But specifically, for a residency here in Puerto Rico, when we are an unincorporated territory of the U.S.… People from the U.S. could come here to see the show. Latinos and Puerto Ricans of the United States could also travel here, or to any part of the world,” he added. “But there was the issue of — like, f–king ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”