Colombian musician J Balvin is apologizing for one of his music videos that portrays Black women as dogs. 

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According to Entertainment Tonight, Balvin’s song “Perra,” a collaboration with Dominican rapper Tokischa, was released on September 7. The song’s lyrics include references to dogs in heat and the video showed the 36-year-old singer walking two Black women on leashes. The women were made to look like dogs and Tokischa has several scenes in a dog house.  

Balvin posted an apology on Instagram, saying,”I’m about tolerance, love and inclusivity. I also like to support new artists, in this case, Tokischa, a woman who supports her people, her community and also empowers women.”  

He also said the video was removed prior to him making the public statement and he apologized to his mother.  

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Colombia’s Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez published an open letter calling out the video. A translation of the letter reveals Ramírez’s thoughts. She said, in the video, Balvin “uses images of women and people [who are] Afro-descendants—population groups with special constitutional protection —presented with dog ears. Also, while walking, the singer carries two women [who are] Afro-descendants tied with neck chains and crawling on the floor like animals or slaves. As if this were not enough, the lyrics of the song have direct and open sexist, racist, macho and misogynistic expressions that violate the rights of women [by] comparing them to an animal that must be dominated and mistreated, with expressions that are not worth repeating.”  

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Tokishca said she was sorry for how the video was interpreted but defended it, citing art as a form of expression.  

The video’s director Raymi Paulus released a statement to Rolling Stone, saying, “I understand that there will never be a unanimous opinion about what constitutes art, but, for me, art not only communicates beauty and positivity—it also communicates the shortcomings of society, taboo subjects, and other ways of seeing reality that do not always align with the pop vision that dominates the current market.”  

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