Maluma Brushes Off Backlash From Passionate Mother’s Day Kiss Photo

On Mother’s Day, Maluma posted a photo of himself embracing his mom and giving her a kiss on the lips. The picture caught many fans of the rapper off-guard, especially since that’s not a common way to greet your parents in the United States. After causing some controversy with the image, the singer’s representative has decided to release a statement explaining why there shouldn’t be anything weird about what happened, noting that it’s pretty common in other countries.

According to People, Maluma’s rep has spoken out about the kiss picture, saying that the gesture is “a cultural thing.” “The beautiful thing is that he has been accepted in the American music market with open arms, and I think, now, where we are in this world with music, it’s really global. Now people are going to be able to see different sides of our culture in different ways,” said Maluma’s team.

“It’s normal in Latin culture especially if you’re the only son or the baby of the house,” he continued. “It’s affection and a form of respect. He’s open about who he is and his cultural values, this is just part of it.”

The photo in question shows Maluma passionately grabbing his mother’s cheeks and giving her a big ole smooch on the lips. It has been dismissed as “weird” and “not normal.” What do you make of the gesture?