J Balvin has removed a new music video from YouTube following complaints that the imagery was racist and sexist. Balvin’s single, “Perra,†a collaboration with Dominican artist Tokischa, is about dogs in heat; the music video portrays Balvin walking Black women styled like dogs on leashes and depicts them in cages. According to Billboard, the vice-president of Colombia, Marta LucÃa RamÃrez, issued a letter on October 11 that “called the visual ‘sexist, racist, machista, and misogynistic.’†The video was taken down from YouTube over a week ago.
On Sunday, Balvin issued an apology via his Instagram Story, saying, “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.†Balvin continued, “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.â€
Tokischa, who is Black, apologized to Rolling Stone, saying, “I’m truly sorry that people felt offended,†while also defending her creative process: “It was very conceptual. If you, as a creative, have a song that’s talking about dogs, you’re going to create that world.â€