Austin Butler found himself in a hilariously awkward spot when he unexpectedly joined his friend and future co-star, Bad Bunny, on stage. It turns out a pre-show marijuana gummy was the unexpected guest that night.
The 33-year-old star, known for his role as Elvis, shared the whole story during a recent visit to “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on Tuesday, August 12. “Someone handed me an edible right before the show,” Butler recalled. “At the time, I thought it was a great idea.” He admitted he’s not one for the spotlight, calling his acting job “ironic” because he even dislikes it when people sing “Happy Birthday” to him.
Butler made a surprise appearance at Bad Bunny’s “No Me Quiero Ir de AquÔ residency in Puerto Rico earlier this month. The internet quickly took notice. A video went viral, showing Butler standing on a side stage, arms crossed, swaying a bit uncertainly. Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio MartÃnez Ocasio, is 31 years old.
Speaking with host Jimmy Fallon, Butler explained that he initially had no idea the platform he was on was actually part of Bad Bunny’s stage setup.
“So, all of a sudden, I’m on stage with Bad Bunny,” Austin described. “And the edible had definitely kicked in. It was wild!” He felt like his mind was watching “two different movies” at once. “One movie was like, ‘Benito and I had lunch earlier today, I’m so proud of him.'”
He continued, “I’m looking at him and thinking, ‘Oh my goodness, look how much you mean to everyone here.’ I was just falling in love with the Puerto Rican culture, the dancing, and how everyone was so cool and wonderful.”
Butler even revealed he desperately wanted to dance along with the “Baile Inolvidable” singer without drawing too much attention to himself.
“A part of me was thinking, ‘Don’t dance, because you’ll take the attention away. This is his moment,'” the actor shared. “So I was like, ‘hide,’ my body was telling me to ‘hide,’ but the music was so good I could feel it in my bones at that moment.”
Butler joked about his internal struggle. “I really wanted to dance. But the other little voice inside me was saying, ‘Don’t draw attention!'” This led him to a peculiar move. “So I ended up sort of moving my hips while keeping my arms crossed.” He added, “For some reason, every time I uncrossed my arms, I felt like I was bringing attention to myself.”
When Fallon pointed out that Butler’s attempt to stay low-key failed because the video went viral anyway, the “Dune: Part Two” star admitted he felt conflicted. He didn’t want to end up like one of those famous “Sad Ben Affleck” memes.
“I don’t want to be the sad guy,” Butler quipped. “But you also don’t want to be the one dancing all crazy and grabbing all the attention!”
Butler was far from the only famous face to show up at Bad Bunny’s comeback shows. Big names like Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem, LeBron James, and Ricky Martin have also been spotted in the audience since the residency began on July 11 at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum.
Bad Bunny first announced his “No Me Quiero Ir de AquÔ residency in January. It was his way of saying thank you to his fans in Puerto Rico. They had strongly supported his sixth studio album, titled “Debà Tirar Más Fotos.” That name, for those wondering, means “I Should Have Taken More Photos” in English.
“I’m in Puerto Rico, at home, having fun,” he announced on January 13, “and, to be honest, I don’t want to leave.” He expressed gratitude for his music career. “Thanks to music and the love you give me through my music, I’ve had the chance to travel and sing in different parts of the world. I appreciate it and love doing it.” He added that he’ll definitely return to some places. He also wants to visit new countries like Brazil and Japan. Plus, he mentioned he hadn’t been to Italy, London, or Spain in a long time.
Bad Bunny’s 30-show “No Me Quiero Ir de AquÔ residency continues at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in San Juan until September 14. After that, he’ll kick off his “Debà Tirar Más Fotos” world tour in Santo Domingo on November 21.