After controversial and offensive statements that Donald Trump recently made about Mexico sending America “criminals and rapists,” which also resulted in his televised pageants being dropped by Univision, NBC has followed suit and unceremoniously dumped him from the peacock network. In a press release today, NBC said the following:
At NBC, respect and dignity for all people are cornerstones of our values.
Due to the recent derogatory statements by Donald Trump regarding immigrants, NBCUniversal is ending its business relationship with Mr. Trump.
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.
In addition, as Mr. Trump has already indicated, he will not be participating in “The Apprentice” on NBC.
“Celebrity Apprentice” is licensed from Mark Burnett’s United Artists Media Group and that relationship will continue.
So, Trump is out, but Celebrity Apprentice will still live on? Oh well. On the plus side, at least he’ll now have more time to devote to his presidential campaign!
Although if this tweet from CNN Correspondent Athena Jones is any indication, this might be far from the last we’ve heard of this:
Trump on NBC ending business relationship: I'll be suing Univision…maybe I'll be suing NBC too.
— Athena Jones (@AthenaCNN) June 29, 2015
Update: In a press conference this afternoon, Trump is making it seem like the parting of ways was mutual, while upholding his remarks about immigration:
