Mexico drops out of Miss Universe over Trump tirade

Mexico has dropped out of the Miss Universe pageant over co-owner and US presidential candidate Donald Trump's "racist" remarks about Mexican migrants, as Latino anger toward the outspoken tycoon boils over.

Trump's comments about migrants have outraged Latin Americans and the Hispanic community in the United States.

Losing a Latin American contestant is a big setback for Miss Universe as the pageant is hugely popular in the region, where victory is a source of national pride that can spark street celebrations.

The governments of Mexico and Venezuela have both lacerated Trump. While Venezuelans are weighing their participation in Miss Universe, Mexico has pulled the plug.

"It's a shame that because of his racist comments we lose what the contest has promoted and represented during so many years, which is an atmosphere of harmony and peace among nations," former Miss Universe and Nuestra Belleza Mexico pageant director Lupita Jones wrote on Twitter late Monday.

On Tuesday, she told Radio Imaginen: "Beyond a beauty contest, a crown, what's important is to protest in some way to defend the pride and name of all Mexicans."

Colombian pop star Shakira joined the chorus, writing on Twitter that Trump's comments were a "hateful and racist" attempt to divide Americans.

US television giant NBC, which co-owns the pageant, and Mexican broadcaster Televisa both announced on Monday that they were severing ties with Trump, meaning they will not air the show.

Trump hit back at Spanish-language US channel Univision on Tuesday, filing a $500 million lawsuit over the company's decision not to broadcast the July 12 Miss USA pageant.

In a rambling campaign announcement on June 16, Trump lashed out at Mexico and Mexican migrants, saying that they were bringing drugs, crime and "rapists" to the United States.

The Mexican government denounced Trump's remarks as "prejudiced and absurd," while Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called the real estate mogul a "thief."

- 'Best decision' -

Despite the growing criticism, Trump has not stopped talking about Mexico, writing on Twitter on Tuesday: "I love the Mexican people, but Mexico is not our friend. They're killing us at the border and they're killing us on jobs and trade."
His words could still cost his Miss Universe contest.
Venezuela's Cisneros Media, the company that organizes the national pageant and airs Miss Universe on Venevision, said it was "evaluating the situation" following Trump's comments.

Miss Universe is particularly popular in Venezuela, as the country is second to the United States in contest winners with seven.

While another beauty-producing nation, Colombia, has yet to take a position, its 2014 Miss Universe winner Paulina Vega is under social media pressure to give up her crown.

The Twitter hashtag #PaulinaRenuncie (#PaulinaResign) has spread, though some users have urged her to keep her Miss Universe title.

For Miss Mexico Wendolly Esparza, a brunette from the central state of Aguascalientes who studied journalism in the United States, her dream of winning the ultimate beauty pageant was cut short.

While Esparza is "sad" at the outcome, Jones said, "she is conscious that this is the best decision."