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J Balvin recently came under fire for having “racist and misogynistic” undertones in his new music video Perra. The song was released in collaboration with Tokischa in September and faced severe criticism for representing African-American women as dogs.
In the video, the musician is seen walking with several women in leashes. Female artists are also seen wearing dog ears, while rapper Tokischa is shown posing inside a doghouse.
The video left viewers largely disappointed and several people have condemned the visuals on social media.
Columbian Vice President Marta Lucia Ramirez and the Presidential Council for the Equality of Women Gheidy Gallo Santos wrote a letter calling out the “racist, machisto and misogynistic” nature of the video. The music video was even criticized by J Balvin’s own mother during a radio interview:
“When I found out [about “Perra”], I called him…, “Where is the Josesito that I know? That song is not… I don’t even know what to say. I did not see my Jose anywhere.”
Following days of consistent online backlash, J Balvin took to Instagram to take responsibility for his actions and apologized for his controversial music video:
"I want to say sorry to whomever felt offended, especially to the Black community. That's not who I am. I'm about 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."
The singer also said that he has removed the video from YouTube and even apologized to his mother:
"As a form of respect, I removed the video eight days ago but because the criticism continued, I'm here making a statement… Mom, I'm sorry too. Life gets better each day. Thank you for listening to me."
The Perra music video was removed from YouTube on October 17 but the official audio of the song remains on the platform.
Twitter slams J Balvin for ‘Perra’ music video's display of racist and mysogynistic themes
J Balvin is a popular Columbian singer and rapper, often regarded as the “Prince of Reggaeton”. He is also known as one of the top best-selling Latin music artists of all time. He has earned multiple notable accolades for his work through the years, including a Guinness World Record for being "leader of a second-generation reggaeton revolution."
Despite having a prominent music career, the four-time Latin Grammy winner has faced his fair share of controversies in the entertainment industry. More recently, the singer released his new album, Jose, which also became his fourth number one project on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart.
However, the track Perra from his new album was subject to severe criticism around the world for being racially inappropriate and misogynistic in nature. Several viewers flocked to Twitter to slam the artist for his questionable music video.
The latest racial controversy surrounding J Balvin comes just a few months after he was criticized for using African-American esthetics on his In Da Ghetto music video in July. Last year, the Mi Gente singer was also called out for using “Every Lives Matter” on social media.
Despite the rapper's official apology, it remains to be seen if the controversy will have negative consequences on the reception of his new album.
