Univision Announces it is Cutting Ties With Donald Trump, Will Not Air Miss USA Pageant
In a statement released on Thursday morning, Univision Communications inc. announced it would be ending its relationship with the Miss Universe organization.
The announcement comes in the wake of much criticism from various Latino public figures for Donald Trump's racist comments about Mexico and Mexican immigrants.
"At Univision we see first-hand the work ethic, love for family, strong religious values and the important role Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans have had and will continue to have in building the future of our country," the statement said.
Univision was set to air the Miss USA pageant in Spanish for the first time when the competition takes place in July. However, due to the termination of their relationship with the pageant organization, the network will not be airing the event.
In its statement, the network included that Univision News and its local news divisions will still cover the pageant, report about contestants and Trump's presidential campaign, but that will be the extent of any Trump-related content the network will include.
Several celebrities have criticized Trump for his comments, including rock band Maná, who joined legendary American musicians like Cher and Neil Young, in blasting Trump for his controversial claims about members of the Latino community. Other stars have taken action to show their support of the Mexican community when given the opportunity.
Pageant director and ex-Miss Universe, Lupita Jones made a statement on social media that threatened to remove Mexico from the Miss Universe competition and most recently reggaeton singer, J Balvin, announced Wednesday that he canceled his performance at the Miss USA competition in July because of the racist comments made by the presidential campaign.
To win a spot on the presidential ticket and eventually the presidency, Trump has to get the approval of the Latino community. The Latino vote is always very crucial to any candidate since Latino's are the largest ethnic group in the United States.
Trump tried to make amends with his recent comments stating that he "loves Latinos" and that "Latinos love him." He insisted that he creates jobs and employs many Latinos.
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