Multi-platinum, award-winning singer Becky G recently graced the stage at the annual Coachella festival, which spans two weekends in California.
Among the songs she performed for the many fans in attendance were her hits Arranca, Shower, and Chanel featuring Peso Plumo.
On Saturday, the 26-year-old singer and actress from Inglewood was to receive the key to the city of Coachella.
However, that decision seemed to irk plenty of critics who called out the decision to honor the singer with the metaphorical key.
Numerous individuals took to Twitter to share their reactions to the news, showing their disapproval of Becky G as someone who should receive the honor.
The uproar led to Mayor Steven Hernandez releasing a statement defending the decision to present Becky G the key to the city of Coachella ahead of the ceremony taking place as planned.
Backlash arrives over the decision to give Becky G keys to the city
When many people hear of Coachella, they immediately think of the annual music festival. The consecutive event held on two three-day weekends occurs in Indio, California, located in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Dessert.
As mentioned, Becky G was among the many performers at the 2023 edition of the event, which was headlined by artists including Bad Bunny, Blink 182, and Blackpink.
When a KESQ News Channel 3 report revealed that the Becky from the Block hitmaker would receive the keys to the city of Coachella, more than a few critics took to Twitter to voice their opinions on the matter.
“Bruh I loveeee Becky G but why won’t they give the key to Coachella to someone that actually has done something for the city of Coachella,” one Twitter user wrote.
“What a joke for doing what?” another Twitter user wrote, with someone replying, “I’m also curious.”
Another individual questioned why Becky G was being honored with the keys rather than actress Jenna Ortega who hails from Coachella.
It didn’t seem to be all critics attacking the decision, though. Some seemed to approve of her getting the key and even suggested she could become a mayor at some point.
Mayor defended the decision to honor Becky G, singer attends the public ceremony
So far in her music career, Becky G has been nominated for many awards and has won at the American Music Awards and Billboard Latin Music Awards, among others. She’s yet to take home a Grammy for her work.
Ahead of Saturday’s public ceremony for Becky G, Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez released a statement to defend the decision to honor the singer with the key to the city.
“Becky has been incredibly supportive of the farm worker community through her work with Celebration Nation, who held an event at our Veterans’ Memorial Park yesterday distributing food and other staples to our residents in need,” Hernandez said.
The public ceremony went as planned on Saturday, at the Coachella Library, as Mayor Hernandez and City Council presented the symbolic key to the singer.
“It’s an honor for sure, I would say every opportunity is different, and they all carry a lot of weight for sure, and I’m just one little person,” Becky G said, per NBC Palm Springs.
“This is what my heart always wanted was to represent and help connect with my community for us to see ourselves in authentic ways in ways that really represented our heart, our passion, our work,” she commented about the honor.
An image on Twitter showed a smiling Becky G holding a plaque she received during the event.
Earlier this month, Becky G performed at WWE’s WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles, California. Prior to her rendition of America the Beautiful, the singer received an honorary Latino World Order (LWO) shirt celebrating the late wrestling star Eddie Guerrero.
Per NBC Palm Springs’ report, the singer’s most recent award of the metaphorical key to the city will remain on display at Coachella’s City Hall.