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| FILE - In this June 16, 2013, file photo, Donald Trump, left, and Miss Connecticut USA Erin Brady pose onstage after Brady won the 2013 Miss USA pageant in Las Vegas. The Reelz channel said Thursday, July 2, 2015, it will carry Trump's Miss USA pageant that was dropped by NBC after Trump made critical comments about immigrants from Mexico |
LOS ANGELES
(AP) -- The Miss USA pageant, left without a TV home following blowback
against co-owner Donald Trump over his comments on Mexican immigrants,
has been rescued by the Reelz channel.
Reelz
CEO Stan E. Hubbard said in a statement Thursday that the cable and
satellite channel acquired the rights because of a belief that the
pageant and the women who compete in it "are an integral part of
American tradition."
"As one of only a few
independent networks, we decided to exercise our own voice and committed
ourselves to bringing this pageant to American viewers everywhere,"
Hubbard said.
While Reelz, which reaches 70
million homes, said it considered the interests of Miss USA contestants,
the host city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and viewers in making its
decision, it made no mention of Trump or the hot water he's found
himself in since he announced his presidential bid in June.
In
an interview, Hubbard said the pageant is the issue, not Trump. He said
the billionaire won't make any money off the telecast.
"I
completely understand why millions of people were offended by what
Donald Trump said. I think his comments were incredibly insensitive and
wrong. I disagree with them completely and totally," Hubbard said,
adding, "I also believe this pageant is as nonpolitical" as an event can
be.
In his June presidential campaign
announcement, Trump said that some Mexican immigrants to the U.S. bring
drugs and crime, and some are rapists. NBC, Trump's partner in the Miss
USA pageant, cited his comments when it cut business ties with him and
dropped its pageant telecast.
That left Miss USA adrift and created an opening for Reelz.
Hubbard
said the license fee negotiated with the pageant was well below market
value for such events and so small that it "won't put even a dent in the
production costs" shouldered by the pageant. He declined to specify the
amount.
"The point is that people who were
offended want to make sure he's (Trump) not going to profit from our
decision," and that won't happen, Hubbard said.
Trump declined to comment on the Reelz acquisition.
The
pageant also won't make money from commercial spots; any revenue will
go to Reelz. Hubbard said it will be a scramble to sign advertisers both
because of timing and the controversy surrounding the pageant.
This
isn't the first time Reelz has gone its own way. When the History
channel dropped "The Kennedys" miniseries that had been made for it,
saying it didn't fit its brand, Reelz aired it in 2011 and was rewarded
with record channel ratings and awards attention.
Reelz
said the Miss USA pageant will be televised July 12, its originally
scheduled date on NBC. The pageant will have to scramble after a mass
exodus of performers, hosts and judges who cited opposition to Trump's
views as the reason.
Hubbard said he's
optimistic the telecast will be "loaded with talent and heavy
entertainment value," and said he'd prefer to see a Hispanic host.
Rapper
Flo Rida had been the highest profile performer scheduled for Miss USA,
and his representative confirmed Wednesday that he wouldn't perform.
Country singer Craig Wayne Boyd, winner of "The Voice" last year, and
pop singer Natalie La Rose also dropped out. There were no more
announced performers.
In a Miss USA news
release last month, the judges were listed as HGTV star Jonathan Scott,
country singer Jessie James Decker, E! News anchor Terrence Jenkins, TV
host and former Miss Universe winner Zuleyka Rivera and Hall of Famer
Emmitt Smith.
Of that quintet, only Decker's
name was listed as a judge by Miss USA on its website Wednesday. That's
the day Smith dropped out.
The pageant lost
both of its co-hosts, Cheryl Burke of "Dancing With the Stars" and MSNBC
anchor Thomas Roberts, on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Jeannie Mai, who
hosted a show on the Style Network, was listed as a show host.
Last
week, the hosts of the now-abandoned Univision Spanish-language
simulcast, Roselyn Sanchez and Cristian de la Fuente, said they wouldn't
take part in it.
Trump's campaign comments
struck many Latinos as insensitive, and Univision's decision last week
to back out of televising Miss USA and break off its business ties with
Trump led to a cascade of others following suit. Trump responded by
suing Univision on Tuesday.
Aside from the pageant world, there has growing fallout on other fronts for the GOP presidential hopeful and businessman.
On
Wednesday, the Macy's department store chain, which carried a Donald
Trump menswear line, said it was "distressed" by Trump's remarks and was
ending its relationship with him.
Trump said
in a statement that he had decided to end his relationship with Macy's
because of pressure on them by outside sources.
"Both
Macy's and NBC totally caved at the first sight of potential difficulty
with special interest groups who are nothing more than professional
agitators," Trump said.
Also on Wednesday, New
York City officials said they were reviewing the city's contracts with
Trump in light of his comments, and Mayor Bill de Blasio issued a
statement calling them "disgusting and offensive," adding that "this
hateful language has no place in our city."
The Trump Organization currently operates several city concessions, including a golf course, ice skating rink and carousel.
Representatives for Trump did not respond Wednesday to an email seeking comment on the city's review.
The
PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, USGA and PGA of America also on Wednesday
distanced themselves from Trump in a statement and said his remarks were
"inconsistent with our strong commitment to an inclusive and welcoming
environment in the game of golf."
Gov. Susana
Martinez of New Mexico, the nation's only Latina governor and a rising
star in the Republican party, added her voice Wednesday to criticism of
the GOP presidential hopeful, denouncing his comments as "horrible."
