Donald Trump to sue Univision for dropping Miss USA

Donald Trump, the billionaire real-estate mogul, is planning to sue U.S. Spanish-language TV network Univision for dropping coverage of the Miss USA pageant he part-owns, his lawyer said on Thursday.

“We intend to pursue all legal rights and remedies available to Mr Trump pursuant to the terms of the license agreement as well as a defamation case against Univision,” his lawyer, Michael Cohen, said in a statement.

This is a breaking news update. Read the original story below.

Univision is canceling its telecast of the Miss USA pageant, an event partially owned by Donald Trump, to protest Trump’s offensive remarks about Mexicans.

Univision is the biggest Spanish-language broadcaster in the United States, so its decision is a blow to the Miss Universe Organization, a joint venture of Trump and Comcast’s NBCUniversal division.

Last week, in his speech announcing a run for president, Trump deplored immigrants from Mexico who “have lots of problems” and are “bringing those problems to us.”

“They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists,” he said, adding, “and some, I assume, are good people.”

The comments caused an outcry. Jorge Ramos, a prominent Univision host, called Trump’s remarks “absurd” and “prejudiced.”

On Thursday, Univision said its entertainment division is “ending the company’s business relationship with the Miss Universe Organization, which is part-owned by Donald J. Trump, based on his recent, insulting remarks about Mexican immigrants.”

“At Univision, we see first-hand the work ethic, love for family, strong religious values and the important role Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans have had and will continue to have in building the future of our country,” the company said. “We will not be airing the Miss USA pageant on July 12 or working on any other projects tied to the Trump Organization.”

Representatives for Trump and NBCUniversal did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but Trump fired back on Twitter.

With Univision out of the picture, NBCUniversal might seek to televise the pageants on its competing Spanish-language network Telemundo instead.