Reelz Channel paid “no more than $100,000” to license Donald Trump’s Miss USA pageant, a network insider told the Wrap.
The network announced Thursday it had acquired television rights to the pageant, which had been dumped by broadcast partner NBC on Monday. Trump and the broadcaster’s parent company NBCUniversal co-own Miss USA and the Miss Universe pageant.
Univision was the first television partner to cut ties with the Miss Universe Organization following comments made by Trump at an event for his presidential campaign, where he disparaged Mexicans as “rapists.” The network’s contract dictated that it would pay $13.5 million over five years to broadcast the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants. Trump is suing Univision for $500 million for dropping the shows.
Reelz’s contract covers only the Miss USA pageant July 12.
Reelz CEO Stan E. Hubbard told TheWrap that the network “does not endorse Trump’s comments regarding Mexicans. Hubbard, whose father, Stanley Hubbard, is a regular donator to Republican political campaigns, added, “I am not a supporter of Donald Trump’s for president.”
Recent days have seen on-camera talent flee the program, with co-host Cheryl Burke, judges Emmit Smith and Jonathan Scott, and performer Flo Rida all departing.
Hubbard also responded to media reports that the pageant’s parent organization is actively pursuing a Latino host to join the broadcast. “I would love to see that, but I don’t know if that’s in the cards or not.
15 Times Donald Trump Courted Controversy (Photos)
The U.S. Justice Department accused Trump of not renting to minority tenants in 1973.
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Trump was accused of dooming the fledgling U.S. Football League in 1984 when he insisted it go head to head with the NFL with a fall game schedule.
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Trump sparked a feud with Rosie O'Donnell in 2006, calling the comedian "disgusting" and "a slob," among other things
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In September 2010, Trump accused the imam of a proposed mosque near NYC's Ground Zero of using religion to bargain for a better real estate price.
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Joining the dubious "birther" movement, Trump fought to get President Obama to release his long-form birth certificate in April 2011.
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Trump earned the ire of environmentalists when he unveiled plans forĀ a massive golf course in Scotland in July 2012.
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Trump upset gay rights groups when he compared gay marriage to golf in February 2013.
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In August 2013 Trump was the subject of a civil suit for allegedly false promises made to students of his Trump University.
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A new waterfront Chicago skyscraper opened in 2014 despite widespread complaints about the 20-foot-high sign bearing his name.
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Trump began a feud with Russell Brand after seeing the British comedian on a talk show and disliking what he saw.
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Trump minced no words when he tweeted about the "thugs" rioting in Baltimore in April 2015 following the death of an African American man in police custody.
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Announcing his bid for the GOP nomination in June 2015, Trump set off a media firestorm when he called Mexican immigrants criminals and "rapists."
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Trump reportedly paid actors $50 a head to attend his presidential announcement speech in June 2015.
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Billionaire’s recent public image problems are latest in long line of troubles
The U.S. Justice Department accused Trump of not renting to minority tenants in 1973.