Donald Trump Plans to Sue Univision for a 'Tremendous Amount of Money'
— -- Real estate mogul Donald Trump says he plans to sue “for a tremendous amount of money” after Univision announced it will not air the Miss USA pageant – which is partly owned by Trump – because of the disparaging comments he made about Mexican immigrants.
The Spanish-language broadcaster announced it will not show the July 12 Miss USA telecast. The pageant was slated to air on Univision’s UniMas network.
The announcement comes more than a week after Trump’s comments, which he made during a speech announcing his candidacy for president.
“When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best,” Trump said in the speech. “They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
Trump, 69, says he was referencing many immigrant groups, not just those from Mexico.
When asked by ABC News Thursday whether he regretted those comments, Trump said, “Not at all. I said it about people from all over. I didn’t say it about Mexico – I said people from all over.”
Tthe deal to broadcast Miss USA in Spanish is worth about $15 million, a five-year deal that had been signed in January, according to Trump. He said the planned lawsuit against Univision will involve defamation and breach of contract.
Univision Communications Inc. released a statement about the decision to drop the pageant broadcast.
"At Univision, we see firsthand the work ethic, love for family, strong religious values and the important role Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans have had and will continue to have in building the future of our country," it said.
The Miss Universe Organization is a joint venture between Trump and NBCUniversal. NBC, which also broadcasts Trump’s show “Celebrity Apprentice,” said in a statement that “we do not agree with his positions on a number of issues, including his recent comment on immigration.”
The Univision decision comes after major Latino celebrities such as singer Ricky Martin and Chilean actor Christian de la Fuente – one of the co-hosts of the broadcast – slammed Trump.
Trump claims Univision apologized to him about the decision before it was announced. He says he plans to name the executive who called him in his lawsuit.
