J Balvin has evidently thought better of his ill-conceived Perra music video — and we’re all frankly better off for it.
The Colombian recording artist, full name José Álvaro Osorio Balvín, found himself at the forefront of major public backlash this weekend after the visuals for his song was released. In the vid — which has since been removed from YouTube after the uproar — the rapper was shown walking two Black women on leashes, with their faces made to look like dogs.
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Of course, “perra” is the Spanish word for bitch, a female dog, so pretty much from the start it should have been evident this wasn’t going to be the most sensitive content he’s ever put out… Still, unsurprisingly, fans reacted negatively to the Raymi Paulus-directed music video. And now, J Balvin is making sure he is very clear about walking it back.
On Sunday, the 36-year-old performing artist took to his Instagram Stories in a series of four consecutive clips to publicly apologize for the Perra content, while also trying to make good on his collaboration on that same song with Dominican performer Tokischa (pictured above, inset).
In one vid on his IG Stories, the reggaeton artist says in Spanish (below):
“I want to say sorry to whomever felt offended, especially to the Black community. That’s not who I am.”
Conscious of the effect the video had not only on his female fans, but also his own family, Balvin apologized directly to his mother for the uproar as well.
He also added a note about Tokischa, and her role in the controversy:
“I have always been about tolerance, love, and integration, just as I’ve always liked to support new talent — in this case Tokischa, a woman who supports her people, her community, and empowers women.”
Speaking of Tokischa, the 25-year-old from Santo Domingo Este opened up to Rolling Stone about the visuals, too.
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In her comments, the former model-turned-artist apologized for the way the video was interpreted, revealing that they had initially meant for the song to be a play on the phrase “perra en calor,” which roughly translates in English to “bitch in heat.”
Tokischa, who said she’s continuing to support J Balvin through this “difficult moment,” explained:
“I said that if I’m going to talk about ‘perra en calor,’ I’m going use all the language associated with dogs: ‘perro de raza’ [purebred], ‘Purina’—which is a word with a double meaning because here, that’s what you call a product that’s really pure… ‘la perrera’ [the pound]. It was very conceptual. If you, as a creative, have a song that’s talking about dogs, you’re going to create that world. I understand the interpretation people had and I’m truly sorry that people felt offended. But at the same time, art is expression.”
¡Dios mio!
What do U think, Perezcious readers? Is it all lost in translation here or should this have been a no-go from the very beginning for both J Balvin and Tokischa? Lets just remember it was two Black women made to look like dogs…
Sound OFF with your take on the Perra controversy down in the comments (below).
[Image via Tokischa/J Balvin/Instagram]
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