A rep for Madison Square Garden has responded to criticism following a rally held at the New York arena on Sunday night by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, where several racist insults were made.
An MSG Entertainment spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter on Monday: “As a business we are neutral in political matters. We rent to either side. We don’t censor artists, performers or speakers.”
The event has been criticized in part for lewd and racist comments made by stand-up comedian Tony Hinchcliffe about Latinos, Jews and Black people, all of whom are key constituencies in the election, which is just a little over a week away.
“I don’t know if you guys know this, but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” Hinchcliffe said during the rally.
Hinchcliffe also made a racist joke about a Black person in the audience, saying he had “carved watermelons” with the audience member.
On Sunday, several Puerto Ricans working in the entertainment industry showed their support for Trump’s Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris, including Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin.
During his own remarks on Sunday night, Trump praised James Dolan, whose family owns Madison Square Garden.
“I want to thank Jim Dolan,” he said. “He’s been incredible. He’s been just incredible. The job they’ve done. The job they’ve done. Thank you.”
The two are longtime friends. Dolan got married at Trump’s Mar-A-Lago resort in Florida.
More to come.
English (US) ·