Colombian superstar J Balvin spoke out on the controversy surrounding his new music video over the weekend, offering his supporters an apology and explanation for removing the video from YouTube. According to Billboard, the rapper released “Perra” in early September. While many fans tuned in to the song’s music video to support J Balvin’s latest project, some were left feeling offended by several Black women in the video reportedly shown on all fours and being “walked” on a leash.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the “Perra” video showed the “In da Getto” rapper pulling on leashes attached to two Black women, and also displayed Tokischa, a black Dominican female rapper featured on the song, on her hands and knees while posing in a doghouse.
.@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
“Perra” is featured on J Balvin’s 2021 album JOSE, the artists’ fifth studio album. The video has since been deleted from YouTube, though fans can still listen to the audio version on the platform.
The 36-year-old entertainer apologized for the controversial music video on Sunday, October 24 via his Instagram Story, Billboard reported, telling fans, “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,”
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J Balvin also admitted to removing the video from YouTube himself “as a form of respect.”
Speaking with Rolling Stone about the collaboration, Tokischa defended the music video’s content and “Perra en calor” theme earlier this week, explaining, “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. It’s creating a world,” she added.
