Following Donald Trump‘s inflammatory comments about Mexican immigrants during a speech announcing his candidacy for president, NBC will no longer be airing the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants.
The controversy started when Trump announced his run for president and called for a great wall to be built in order to stop illegal immigration from Mexico to the United States. “The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else’s problems. When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
“At NBC, respect and dignity for all people are cornerstones of our values,” reads a network statement released to Deadline on Monday. “Due to the recent derogatory statements by Donald Trump regarding immigrants, NBCUniversal is ending its business relationship with Mr. Trump.”
The statement continues: “To that end, the annual Miss USA and Miss Universe Pageants, which are part of a joint venture between NBC and Trump, will no longer air on NBC.”
Trump, 69, will also not be participating in The Apprentice, according to NBC, “as Mr. Trump has already indicated.”
