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Shortly after co-hosts Cheryl Burke and Thomas Roberts pulled out of the Miss USA pageant following Donald Trump’s offensive comments about Mexican immigrants, Miss USA performer Flo Rida and pageant judge Emmitt Smith have reportedly followed suit on Wednesday by bowing out of their duties as well.
Flo Rida had been scheduled to perform at the upcoming Miss USA pageant, scheduled to take place on July 12 in Baton Rouge, La, but decided to withdraw, reports the Associated Press. The “GDFR” musician had been scheduled to headline the event alongside “The Voice” winner Craig Wayne Boyd, “Somebody” singer Natalie La Rose and reggaeton artist J. Balvin, all of whom had dropped out prior to Flo Rida’s announcement.
Football star Emmitt Smith has also dropped out from his duties as Miss USA judge. In a press release issued last month, the former Dallas Cowboys running back had been named one of fives judges including HGTV “Property Brothers” personality Jonathan Scott, country crooner Jessie James Decker, E! News anchor Terrence Jenkins and former Miss Universe winner Zuleyka Rivera. Of those five names, only Decker’s remains listed as a telecast judge on the Miss USA website.
A spokesperson for the pageant could not confirm the news about the event’s judges and performers.
And Trump’s derogatory comments about Mexican immigrants has hurt more than just his Miss USA/Miss Universe pageant organization. In a statement released Wednesday, Macy’s announced its decision to end its business relationship with Trump, a move which follows NBC’s decision earlier this week to cut its ties with the real estate developer and his Miss USA/Miss Universe pageants.
“We are disappointed and distressed by recent remarks about immigrants from Mexico. We do not believe the disparaging characterizations portray an accurate picture of the many Mexicans, Mexican Americans and Latinos who have made so many valuable contributions to the success of our nation,” Macy’s said. “In light of statements made by Donald Trump, which are inconsistent with Macy’s values, we have decided to discontinue our business relationship with Mr. Trump and will phase-out the Trump menswear collection, which has been sold at Macy’s since 2004.”
Trump reacted to the news by releasing his own statement, declaring the end of the business agreement was his decision.
“I have decided to terminate my relationship with Macy’s because of the pressure being put on them by outside sources. While selling Trump ties and shirts at Macy’s is a small business in terms of dollar volume, my principles are far more important and therefore much more valuable. I have never been happy about the fact that the ties and shirts are made in China, and should I start a new product line somewhere in the future, I would insist that they are made in America.”
Miss USA/Miss Universe pageant president Paula Shugart told EW that the Miss USA pageant will proceed as scheduled for July 12, and that plans are being made to live stream the event online. Under her direction, the organization has also begun talks with prospective broadcasters. “We’re doing many, many different things at once,” Shugart said. “I kind of liken it to when the Golden Globes aired during the writer’s strike [in 2008]. Obviously, they couldn’t do their typical Golden Globes show, but that event went on and it was different the year of the strike. That’s kind of the approach I’m taking to this.
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