Puerto Rican actor Aubrey Plaza has called out racist remarks made about the island and its people at a recent Donald Trump rally.
On Sunday (27 October), comedian Tony Hinchcliffe was booed at a rally in Madison Square Garden after he described Puerto Rico as a "floating island of garbage".
“There’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now,” Hinchcliffe, 40, said. “I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”
The joke led to widespread condemnation from Republicans, Democrats, and celebrities, and Trump’s campaign has distanced itself from the comments.
Speaking at the Wall Street Journal’s Innovator Awards in New York on Tuesday (29 October), Plaza – who is of Puerto Rican descent – said: “I just wanted to very quickly respond to the racist joke that was made at that Trump rally about Puerto Rico, where most of my family is from.
“Thankfully, my sweet Abuelita [grandma] wasn’t here to hear that disgusting remark. But if she was alive today, I think she would say, ‘Tony Hinchcliffe, go f*** yourself.’ And yes, the Wall Street Journal can quote me on that.”
Plaza, 40, was at the event to present basketball player A’ja Wilson as one of the 2024 honourees.
The actor, who has recently starred in the Marvel miniseries Agatha All Along and the indie film My Old Ass, is not the first Puerto Rican celebrity to call out the comments.
Luis Fonsi, the singer behind the hit song “Despacito”, wrote on his Instagram story on Sunday: “We are not OK with this constant hate. It’s been abundantly clear that these people have no respect for us and yet they want our vote. I purposely wrote this in English cause yes we’re American too.”
The fallout from the racist joke continued on Tuesday evening when Joe Biden was forced to issue a denial that he called supporters of Trump “garbage” in retaliation.
Trump and Kamala Harris are in their final week of campaigning ahead of the US election on 5 November, with the national polls showing the two candidates in a deadlock.
