Benny Blanco Branded 'Racist' as His Latin Album 'Hermoso' and Giant Mask Spark 'Latino Cosplay' Claims

A single album cover has turned Benny Blanco into the internet's latest flashpoint over cultural authenticity.

The 37-year-old record producer, born Benjamin Joseph Levin in Reston, Virginia, unveiled the artwork for his upcoming album 'Hermoso' this month, and the reaction has been swift and largely unfavourable. The cover shows his own face digitally distorted into a cartoonish, mask-like caricature, a choice that has drawn comparisons to fellow artist The Weeknd's album aesthetics.

Set for release on 14 August 2026, the record's Spanish-language title and branding have prompted critics to question why an American producer of Jewish heritage is leaning so heavily on Latin cultural signifiers.

Backlash Builds Over Album Cover and Title

Reaction to the 'Hermoso' cover reveal split almost immediately along two lines: those who found the distorted face simply unappealing, and those who took issue with the album's broader framing. One X user wrote, 'What mask??? He's right there,' while another quipped, 'So cute he's ugly.' Several commenters noted the visual's resemblance to The Weeknd's cartoon-style album art, with one writing, 'Kinda copy The Weeknd.'

Beyond the aesthetics, critics zeroed in on the choice of 'Hermoso', Spanish for 'beautiful', as a title, calling it, in the words of one commenter, arrogant for an artist with no Latin American heritage. Blanco has not issued a public statement addressing the specific criticism of the title or artwork as of publication.

Fans Question Producer's Latin-Coded Persona

The sharper edge of the backlash has centred on Blanco's broader promotional persona, which critics argue borrows heavily from Latin cultural aesthetics without any corresponding heritage to back it up. 'It's actually so sinister to make your entire persona a downtrodden Latino man when you're literally a Jewish guy from Virginia,' one social media user wrote, in comments that received thousands of interactions across Reddit and X.

Another added, 'Adding so much Latin 'flair' to sell as his aesthetic is distasteful as he's not even Latino to begin with.'

Blanco's background is well documented. He was born in Virginia to a Jewish family, began his production career as a teenager, and has since produced or co-written for artists including Ed Sheeran, Britney Spears, Rihanna, Kesha and Katy Perry, contributing to a catalogue that has moved more than 500 million album-equivalent units. He married actress and Rare Beauty founder Selena Gomez in 2025, and the couple have previously collaborated musically, including on Spanish-language material with Becky G for streaming platform Deezer.

That prior collaboration is part of what critics say complicates the current backlash: Blanco has worked within Latin music circles before, but detractors argue that doing so does not entitle him to adopt the imagery and language of a culture that is not his own for a solo album rollout.

Supporters, meanwhile, point to his decades-long, genre-spanning production career as evidence that experimentation with different sounds and aesthetics is simply part of his craft.

Online Reaction Splits Over Weeknd Comparisons

The response has not been uniformly critical. Some commenters defended Blanco, framing the criticism as an overreaction to marketing choices, while others focused their scorn purely on the visual design of the mask rather than any cultural argument. The mixed reaction reflects a familiar pattern in pop music discourse, where artists working across genres and cultural references face scrutiny over where creative inspiration ends and appropriation begins.

Accusations of racism levelled at Blanco are not entirely new. Older social media threads referencing past comments have periodically resurfaced online, though none of those earlier controversies are directly tied to the current 'Hermoso' rollout. Blanco's team has not responded publicly to any of the recent claims, and no formal complaint, boycott campaign, or statement from Latin music organisations has been reported in connection with the album.

Whether the controversy translates into commercial impact when 'Hermoso' lands on 14 August remains to be seen. For now, the conversation around Blanco has centred more on identity than on the music.