If Donald Trump didn’t think that lambasting immigrants, especially Mexican and Latin American ones, was going to come back to hurt him, he was sorely mistaken. Not even a week-and-a-half since after the controversial businessman announced his run for president with a wandering xenophobic speech, major Latin American media entities and personalities have decicively repudiated him. (In that speech, among other racist nonsense,Trump described Mexican immigrants as "rapists.") Not only has Univision terminated its relationship with Trump’s Miss Universe Organization, but Colombian reggaeton singer and international superstar J Balvin has cancelled his performance at the upcoming Miss USA pageant.
In an exclusive interview with Billboard, the singer expressed that the decision was a moral one that trumped (pun intended) business:
“It was going to be my first performance on national [mainstream] television,” Balvin told Billboard exclusively from his home in Medellín, Colombia. In fact, he says, repertoire had already been discussed.
“But we’re talking about our roots, our culture, our values,” he added. “This isn’t about being punitive, but about showing leadership through social responsibility. His comments weren’t just about Mexicans, but about all Latins in general.”
Trump, who seems to have forgotten that the current Miss USA and Miss Universe are both Latina, has blamed the Mexican government for Univison’s decision not to telecast the July 12th pageant. Balvin, meanwhile, will be getting major mainstream exposure when he joins Stevie Wonder and Nicole Scherzinger, among others, to perform at the Special Olympics World Games’ opening ceremony on July 25th (which will air on ESPN).