Los Angeles, California – Benny Blanco is known for being a record-producing whiz and the loving hubby of Selena Gomez. But his latest album, titled Hermoso, has created controversy among fans. What’s everyone riled up about?
The Latin-coded album – which features eight songs, all titled in Spanish – includes a caricature mask of Benny’s face in the rollout materials.
Although his wife is Mexican-American, Benny Blanco himself was born Benjamin Joseph Levin.
He is the son of Sandra Levin and Andrew Levin and was raised in Virginia. His father is reportedly of Eastern European and Jewish ancestry, while Benny’s mom is said to come from Jewish and Puerto Rican descent (though it’s not clear how far back this goes).
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So, when asked why the self-described “chubby Jewish kid from Virginia” chose the industry name “Benny Blanco,” he recently said that the moniker came from a favorite film, Carlito’s Way (1993).
So then, fans wonder, why this heavily Latin culture-inspired album? And adding fuel to the social media fire are some viral comments comparing the mask to racist stereotyping of Latino people.
“The concept of Benny Blanco, a Jewish guy whose stage name is Spanish, putting out a Spanish-themed album called Hermoso while looking like a troll,” said one commenter.
“If I had to guess, I think he’s leaning into the whole ‘he’s ugly’ thing you see a lot on stan twitter/adjacent spaces,” countered another. “It looks like an exaggeration/caricature of him made to look specifically hideous.”
“It is an exaggeration/distortion of his own features. I see it as playing up/leaning into what everyone says about his looks being ugly,” agreed another.
Despite the online furor, several Latinx collaborators joined Benny on the album, including Selena Gomez, Becky G, and The Marías.
