J Balvin apologizes for the controversial “Perra” music video.
Last month, the Colombian rapper J Balvin released the music video for his Tokischa collaboration “Perra”, which appeared on his latest album “Jose”. The music video caused huge controversy as it portrayed Black Women as Dogs. In one part of the video, Balvin was walking down Black Women on leashes. After the backlash, the video was removed from Youtube.
Now, Balvin issued a formal apology through a video clip on his Social Media. “I want to say sorry to whoever felt offended, especially to the Black community,” he said. “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. 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,” he concluded the video, referencing his mother, who previously made a statement that condemned the visual. “Life gets better each day. Thank you for listening to me.”
On Oct. 17, Billboard reported that the video for “Perra,” which features Dominican rapper Tokischa and was directed by Raymi Paulus, was pulled down from YouTube. Balvin can be seen walking two Black ladies on leashes in the video. Tokischa was also observed on all fours posing inside a doghouse. In an interview published Sunday, Tokischa told Rolling Stone that the film was “conceptual” and aimed to accentuate the track’s wordplay.
“If you, as a creative, have a song that’s talking about dogs, you’re going to create that world,” she said. “I understand the interpretation people had and I’m truly sorry that people felt offended. But at the same time, art is expression. It’s creating a world.”
Marta Luca Ramrez, Colombia’s vice president and chancellor, stated in an open letter released on Oct. 11 that the song was “sexist, racist, chauvinist, and misogynistic.”
.@JBALVIN apologizes for the video of “Perra” with #Tokischa. “My message has always been tolerance, love and integration,” he adds. pic.twitter.com/bXOzXv9MVf
— billboard latin (@billboardlatin) October 24, 2021
Even though the video was taken down from Balvin’s official handle, it is still available to watch on youtube.
