Univision host Rodner Figueroa was fired after he compared First Lady Michelle Obama to a character from Planet of the Apes.
Figueroa is an Emmy-winning TV host.
Figueroa was discussing a male makeup artist who made himself look like Michelle Obama when he made the comments.
Venezuelan-born Figueroa made the remark in a segment discussing the work of make-up artist Paolo Ballesteros who posts photos of himself transformed into female celebrities such as the First Lady (Daily Mail)
The Daily Mail reported:
An Emmy-winning talk show host has been fired by the Spanish-language TV station Univision after he compared the First Lady to a character from Planet Of The Apes on live television.
Rodner Figueroa made the racially insensitive remark on the entertainment news show El Gordo Y La Flaca on Wednesday.
Venezuelan-born Figueroa made the remark in a segment discussing the work of make-up artist Paolo Ballesteros who posts photos of himself transformed into female celebrities.
Later Figueroa co-hosted the evening gossip show Sal Y Pimienta, but by Wednesday night his photo had already been removed from the network’s website.
In a statement, Univision called Figueroa’s comments ‘completely reprehensible’ and said they ‘in no way reflect the values or opinions of Univision.’
‘Yesterday during the entertainment show El Gordo y La Flaca, Rodner Figueroa made comments about First Lady Michelle Obama that were completely reprehensible and in no way reflect the values or opinions of Univision. As a result, Mr. Figueroa was fired immediately,’ read a statement.
UPDATE: Figueroa was fired after Michelle Obama’s office called the show.
Figueroa went on to say Michelle Obama was responsible for his firing from Univision, writing “I was verbally notified that a complaint from your office led to my dismissal.”
