People: NBC cuts ties with Donald Trump over immigrant remarks
NBC said Monday that it is ending its business relationship with mogul and GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump because of comments he made about Mexican immigrants during the announcement of his campaign.
The network said it would no longer air the annual Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants, which had been a joint venture between the company and Trump. Miss USA has aired on NBC since 2003, and this year’s edition was set for July 12.
“At NBC, respect and dignity for all people are cornerstones of our values,” NBC said in a statement.
Trump’s reply: A “weak” NBC should prepare to meet him in court.
NBC’s action comes less than a week after Univision similarly decided to ditch Trump and the pageants. Trump has also been a fixture on NBC as host of “The Apprentice” and its celebrity offshoot, and an agreement that he would no longer be on the show predated the current controversy. The network said Monday that it and producer Mark Burnett are exploring ways to continue “Celebrity Apprentice” sans Trump.
In a statement issued by his company in New York, Trump said, “NBC is weak, and like everybody else is trying to be politically correct. That is why our country is in serious trouble.”
He said he’d consider suing, as he plans to do with Univision.
Redford urges U.N. action on climate
Robert Redford said he came to the United Nations Monday not as an actor but as an environmental advocate, father, grandfather and concerned citizen to urge the world’s nations to take action now on climate change.
The 78-year-old Oscar winner said his environmental activism began more than 40 years ago and has grown stronger as he has seen the threat of global warming grow.
He told a high-level meeting of the U.N. General Assembly on climate change that “the time for half measures and climate denial is over.”
“It is the overwhelming judgment of science that climate change is real – and the result of human activity,” Redford said. “Everywhere we look, moderate weather is going extinct.”
The mission of the 193 U.N. member nations, he said, “is as simple as it is daunting: save the world before it’s too late.”
Redford urged world leaders to adopt a universal climate agreement in Paris in December to keep global warming from rising to dangerous levels.
“Nothing less than the fate of our planet will hang in the balance,” he said.
Redford told a news conference later that he hopes to be in Paris to keep pressing for immediate global action.
The birthday bunch
Actress Nancy Dussault is 79. Jazz bassist Stanley Clarke is 64. Actor Vincent D’Onofrio is 56. Actress Deirdre Lovejoy (“The Wire”) is 53. Actress Monica Potter is 44. Actress Lizzy Caplan is 33. Singer and “American Idol” winner Fantasia Barrino is 31.