For weeks, the Spanish-language media and bloggers have been working themselves into a lather about the sexual orientation of Daddy Yankee, the reggaeton king known for his pumped-up macho stage presence and raunchy musical declarations like "Gasolina."
The blather reached a crescendo Wednesday after photos of a man resembling Daddy Yankee kissing another man surfaced on the 'net and were picked up and reprinted by other outlets. That set off another round of innuendo: according to some accounts, Daddy Yankee released a statement acknowledging that he is gay, and asking the media to respect his and his family's privacy.
"I am a human being like any other, with virtues and defects, and I don't believe that this is a defect," he was quoted as saying in a putative "statement" to the press and his followers.
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But according to other reports, the 36-year-old singer born Ramon Ayala used a press conference to castigate the rumor mill for spreading falsehoods. "Now, again to you ignorant ones: the Internet is where the lies become truth and truth becomes myth. Wake up, bobo!"
