+the news

Mexico pulls out of Miss Universe following Donald Trump's immigration remarks

Written by . Published: July 01 2015

Mexico has pulled out of Donald Trump's Miss Universe pageant following remarks the property tycoon and reality TV star made about immigrants to America.


Former beauty queen Lupita Jones, who was crowned Miss Universe in 1991, made the announcement via Twitter.com on Tuesday (30Jun15), insisting pageant co-owner Trump had done "great harm" to the organization by suggesting many Mexicans in America were "rapists" bringing drugs and crime to the United States, during a speech to announce his candidacy for president earlier this month (Jun15).


His comments sent shockwaves through the Latino community, prompting TV bosses at Univision, Televisa and NBC to drop their coverage of his pageants and forcing Roselyn Sanchez, J Balvin and Cristian de la Fuente to pull out of appearances at July's (15) Miss USA.


And now Mexican pageant bosses have given Trump and his partners another black eye by choosing not to enter a candidate for Miss Universe.


Jones, a member of the panel choosing a potential Miss Mexico for the Miss Universe spectacular, writes, "Miss Universe is a contest with a great history in the world, which has been characterized by convening countries to participate in an event where friendship and unity is prominent, breaking down cultural barriers. It's a shame that because of his (Trump) racist comments we lose what the competition has promoted and represented for so many years in an atmosphere of harmony and peace among nations."


The news comes hours after another Miss USA co-host, Cheryl Burke, announced she'd no longer be a part of the show.


The Dancing With the Stars professional released a statement on Tuesday, which read: "In light of the recent statements made by Donald Trump and the subsequent decision by NBC to cut ties with Mr. Trump, I cannot in good conscience move forward with participating in this year's Miss USA Pageant as its co-host.


"Effective today I have withdrawn from my duties with Miss USA. Although I will not be there in person, I wish all of the contestants much luck as I know how hard they've all been working over the last year to try and realize their dreams."


Meanwhile, Trump, who is one of the owners of the Miss Universe Organization which oversees Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA, has filed a $500 million (GBP333 million) lawsuit against Univision bosses following their decision not to broadcast the Miss USA pageant next month (Jul15).


In a new statement obtained by Variety, the tycoon writes: "Nothing that I stated was different from what I have been saying for many years. I want strong borders, and I do not support or condone illegal immigration. There is a high level of crime occurring in this country due to unchecked illegal immigration. This is a major security issue for the United States.


"Additionally, the terrible trade deals our government is routinely entering into with Mexico are causing great financial harm to our country. We are losing a huge number of jobs, manufacturing opportunities and money due to poorly negotiated trade deals, a fact that is indisputable. That won't happen if I become president; this disturbing trend will end and it will end quickly."

Error! Unable to retrieve any Images!