Time
By Tessa Berenson
October 27, 2015
Pressure builds on the network that previously broke ties with Trump
Many people don’t think there’s anything funny about Donald Trump hosting Saturday Night Live.
The
controversy started almost immediately after it was announced two weeks
ago that Trump would host the sketch comedy show on November 7, and is
only growing louder
as the date approaches through petitions by Hispanic organizations, the
government and the public.
It
started with a letter from the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda,
which is composed of 40 Hispanic organizations, to NBC on October 15,
calling for the network to
rescind his invitation to host. “Donald Trump has yet to apologize for
his bigoted comments about Mexican immigrants,” the letter reads.
“Allowing Trump to host SNL will legitimate and validate his anti-Latino
comments… We are appalled that you would enable
Trump’s hateful speech for nothing less than a ratings ploy and ask
that you rescind the SNL invitation.”
Trump
talked to CNN about the Latino groups’ efforts to boycott his
appearance and seemed unfazed by the controversy. “I think they’ll have
luck in driving up the ratings,”
he said. “I know these groups, many of them are scam groups.”
According
to Felix Sanchez, chairman of the National Hispanic Foundation for the
Arts and one of the co-signers of the letter, they have not received a
response from NBC.
Sanchez says some of the organizations involved in the letter are
planning a “demonstration” in New York City on November 4 near 30
Rockefeller Center to further protest Trump’s gig.
Congress
is getting involved, as well. Rep. Luis V. Gutiérrez (D-IL) gave two
speeches on the floor and wrote to the presidents of Comcast and NBC
Universal on October
20 denouncing the show. “Having Donald Trump as a guest on every news
and entertainment program is one thing, but allowing him to host
Saturday Night Live is another,” the Congressman wrote. “It is a level
of endorsement that says to America that every hateful
and racist thing Donald Trump has said since the moment he launched his
campaign is acceptable and no big deal.”
Gutiérrez
is also spearheading a resolution for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus
to vote on calling on Saturday Night Live to drop Trump as a host.
Outside
of government and official organizations, a grassroots movement also
took hold to oust Trump from the hosting spot. A MoveOn.org petition
telling Saturday Night
Live to “dump Donald Trump” had received 141,795 signatures as of this
writing, and one on Change.org had received 227,763. A social media
campaign #RacismIsntFunny began trending as people took to Twitter to
speak out against Trump hosting the show. Comedians
John Leguizamo, Al Madrigal and Margaret Cho have all Tweeted their
opposition to Trump’s appearance on the show.
NBC
declined to comment, and the Trump campaign did not immediately respond
to requests for comment. NBCUniversal, which broadcasts Saturday Night
Live, officially broke
business ties with Trump in June, after the candidate said Mexico was
sending rapists and criminals across the U.S. southern border.
“At
NBC, respect and dignity for all people are cornerstones of our values.
Due to the recent derogatory statements by Donald Trump regarding
immigrants, NBCUniversal
is ending its business relationship with Mr. Trump,” the company said
at the time, when it dropped two joint ventures with Trump, the Miss
Universe and Miss USA pageants.
This
would not be Trump’s first time hosting Saturday Night Live. He hosted
the show in 2004 during the first season of his reality show The
Apprentice.
During
his campaign launch in June, Trump said Mexico was sending rapists and
criminals across the southern border. He has had a fraught relationship
with the Latino community
ever since. He has also said he would build a wall along the southern
border and force Mexico, or Mexicans living in the United States, to pay
for it. He says he would round up and deport all 11 million
undocumented immigrants currently in the country, before
allowing many of them to return.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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