The 2014 Daytime Emmy Award winner Rodner Figueroa was fired from Univision for saying that Michelle Obama looks like someone from the cast of “Planet of the Apes.”
The flamboyant TV host, who doesn’t bite his tongue when commenting on celebrity fashion and styles, should’ve bit off his tongue before he commented while on Univision’s most popular show, “El Gordo y La Flaca”. The show’s hosts were talking about an online video that went viral of a male artist, Paolo Ballesteros, who uses makeup to transform into different female celebrities, including Michelle Obama.
“This is incredible,” said Figueroa in Spanish with certainty. “You know that Michelle Obama looks like she’s from the cast of ‘Planet of the Apes,’ the movie.”
“No, it’s true,” Figueroa said defending his horrific statement to hostess Lili Estefan when she said, “What are you saying?”
Raul de Molina, the other host of the show, countered the racist remark saying he thought Michelle Obama was very attractive (ummm, what do you mean “was” Raul?). Nevertheless, Figueroa then again defended his comment and said, “No, no it’s true. Look at her characteristics.”
In a recent email to Huffpost Voces, Univision’s Iveliesse Malave, Vice President of Consumer and Entertainment Public Relations responded with an official statment:
“Yesterday during the entertainment program ‘El Gordo y La Flaca’ Rodner Figueroa comments on the First Lady Michelle Obama were completely reprehensible and in no way reflect the values or opinions of Univision. As a result, Mr. Figueroa was dismissed immediately.”
Figueroa, 42, worked for Univision for 17-years and had been on “El Gordo y La Flaca” since 2000 and co-hosted the evening gossip show “Sal y Pimienta”.
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