A presenter on the Spanish-language network Univision has defended himself after he was fired for making comments which appeared to compare US first lady Michelle Obama to “something from the cast of Planet of the Apes”.
The comments were made by the Emmy-award winning presenter Rodner Figueroa on the entertainment programme El Gordo y la Flaca on Wednesday.
Univision swiftly condemned Figueroa’s words. In a statement released on Thursday, the network said: “Rodner Figueroa made comments regarding first lady Michelle Obama that were completely reprehensible and in no way reflect Univision’s values or views.”
The statement concluded by saying Figueroa’s employment had been “immediately terminated”.
The situation is slightly murkier than it may have at first appeared. In the segment of the show in question, Figueroa had been discussing the work of a Filipino makeup artist named Paolo Ballesteros, who specialises in transforming himself into celebrities – including Kim Kardashian, Dakota Johnson and Cate Blanchett, as well as Michelle Obama – and posting pictures to his Instagram account.
The meaning of the segment is ambiguous. “Look at the presentation of Michelle Obama,” Figueroa says to camera, after a still from Ballesteros’s Instagram feed is shown on the screen. “Look at it – Michelle Obama looks like something from the cast of Planet of the Apes.”
After a co-presenter tells him he is being disrespectful, Figueroa mentions the film again. The co-presenter says: “I think Michele Obama is an attractive woman.”
Figueroa responds: “It’s a representation he has done which I can’t get my head round.”
In a letter released through his PR firm, in Spanish and translated by the Guardian, Figueroa apologised but argued his remarks had been misinterpreted, saying he had been disparaging Ballesteros’s makeup talent, not making a slur about the first lady.
“I offer my sincere apologies for a comment which I made about a depiction of you by a makeup artist,” said Figueroa in the letter, which is addressed to Michelle Obama personally, adding: “I want to clarify that I am not racist and my comment was in no way directed at you.”
Figueroa said that he felt “embarrassed” and asked forgiveness from the first lady, saying that he had twice voted for Barack Obama. “I apologise, because there is no excuse for a professional like me to make the kind of comment which can be interpreted as offensive and racist in these volatile times this country is living through,” he said.
“I take responsibility for this lack of judgment on my part, but I cannot accept being labelled as racist by anybody – and to be fired for this and publicly humiliated by Univision after 17 years at this company.
“However disagreeable and out of line my comment may have been interpreted to have been, I don’t deserve to be labelled a racist and I have to defend myself.”
He also alleged that his termination had come after a direct complaint made by the White House; representatives from the office of the first lady could not be reached to confirm this.
Univision could not be reached for comment.
