INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA: In this image released on May 2, J Balvin attends Global Citizen VAX LIVE: The Concert To Reunite The World at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Global Citizen VAX LIVE: The Concert To Reunite The World will be broadcast on May 8, 2021. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Global Citizen VAX LIVE)
Colombian superstar J Balvin is apologizing for his controversial music video for his song “Perra,” which showed him walking two Black women on leashes.
J Balvin collaborated with Dominican rapper Tokischa for the song. The video, which was taken down from YouTube, was criticized for its imagery including J Balvin tugging at two Black women on leashes and Tokischa posing inside a dog house on all fours.
According to NBC News, J Balvin issued an apology via his Instagram story: “I want to say sorry to whomever felt offended, especially to the Black women community.”
“That’s not who I am. I have always expressed tolerance, love and inclusivity. I also like to support new artists, in this case Tokischa, a woman who supports her people, her community and also empowers women.”
J Balvin said he removed the video last Sunday “as a form of respect” and explained he was issuing an apology in response to the ongoing criticism.
Tokischa said in an interview with Rolling Stone that the music video, which was directed by Raymi Paulus, was “conceptual” and meant to emphasize the song’s wordplay.
“If you, as a creative, have a song that’s talking about dogs, you’re going to create that world,” she said. “I understand the interpretation people had and I’m truly sorry that people felt offended. But at the same time, art is expression. It’s creating a world.”
Paulus added that the music video was “never aimed to promote racism or misogyny.”
Balvin’s apology came after Colombian Vice President Marta Lucia Ramirez called the song’s visuals “sexist, racist, machista, and misogynistic” in an open letter published earlier this month.
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