Written byKarina Tsui, CNN
On Tuesday, Playboy magazine released its first ever digital cover featuring Puerto-Rican trap artist Bad Bunny. The 26-year-old stars in two cover versions, and is the first man to appear solo on the publication’s cover, with the exception of Playboy’s late founder, Hugh Hefner.
Shot by celebrity photographer Stillz in Miami, Florida, the images accompanying the feature article «Bad Bunny is Not Playing God,» showcase the artist’s exuberant style. He is pictured modeling everything from a gold Versace toga, accessorized with a crown of laurels and chains, to elaborate nail art. His lips in one close-up shot are even garnished with tiny Playboy bunnies.
Born Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, Bad Bunny is known as much for his boundary-pushing music as he is for sartorial choices — such as colorful suits, painted nails, short-shorts — that offer alternative expressions of masculinity and Latin identity.
In the Playboy article, Bunny talks about love: «I think that sex is a giant world, and everyone is free to see it as they want and do it with whoever they want, however they want, with infinite possibilities.» He also shares on the success of his second album «Yo Hago Lo Que Me Da La Gana» («I Do Whatever I Want»), which shot to No.2 on the US Billboard chart, and became the highest-charting all-Spanish language album of all time, with tracks that tackle sexism head-on.
«The music industry and society in general (treat women) like they’re nothing,» he is quoted as saying. «Women are human beings and deserve respect and the same treatment as anybody else.»
The digital feature comes amid significant changes at Playboy. In March, the magazine announced it would suspend its US print edition for the rest of the year, citing «disruption» in production and supply chains caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Top image caption: Bad Bunny performs onstage during the 2020 Spotify Awards at the Auditorio Nacional on March 5, in Mexico City, Mexico.
