Colombian reggaeton star J. Balvin issued a public apology on Sunday to “women and the black community” for the music video for her song “Perra,” which features black women dressed as four-legged animals.
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“I want to apologize to everyone who felt offended, especially women and the black community,” the artist said in a video posted on his Instagram account.
The video, which shows Balvin next to two black women crawling beside him, tied at their necks with chains, outraged netizens as well as public figures.
The vice-president of Colombia, Marta Lucia Ramirez, accused the musician of promoting “macho” and “racist” messages.
“In response, and obviously out of respect, I removed the video (from YouTube) eight days ago. Seeing that they continued to criticize, I am there (…) in person, ”added the 36-year-old singer.
At the beginning of the clip, J. Balvin says he leaves for an “underworld” and then appears as the only fair-skinned mestizo dancing among dozens of black people in a poor neighborhood.
Before it was taken off the YouTube platform, the video had surpassed 10 million views and it can still be seen on other social networks.
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