The video for J Balvín’s “Perra” ft. Tokischa has been quietly removed from Balvín’s YouTube channel amidst accusations of misogyny and racism.
Directed by Raymi Paulus, the video depicts a number of Black people as ravenous dogs and intercuts shots of real dogs. In one scene, Balvín holds leashes attached to two Black women who are on their hands and knees.
Tokischa, who is Black, is shown doing some of her verses inside a doghouse and being fed a bowl of cereal with a fried chicken leg.
“Perra” is the Spanish word for a female dog. The song’s lyrics include multiple references to being in heat.
The video for the track from Balvín’s album José premiered on Sept. 10 and was quickly called out on social media.
"Not J Balvin walking black women on a leash!," read one tweet. "This racist, disrespectful misogynoir has to stop!" Another Twitter user accused Balvín of being "sooo misogynistic and racist."
In an open letter dated Oct. 11, Colombian Vice President Marta Lucia Ramírez and Presidential Counselor for Women’s Equality Gheidy Gallo Santos slammed the video for its “direct and openly sexist, racist and misogynistic expressions that violate the rights of women, comparing them to an animal that must be dominated and mistreated.”
Neither Balvín or Tokischa or their reps have addressed the controversy or the video’s removal. Paulus’s Instagram account has been deleted.
In a tweet, journalist Núria Net called the video “despicable and racist” and said “taking it down from YouTube without making any kind of statement or mea culpa is very cowardly and does not solve anything.”