Rodner Figueroa Michelle Obama ‘Planet of the Apes’ Comment: Did Univision Illegally Fire Host?

Rodner Figueroa, host of the popular "El Gordo y la Flaca" was fired earlier this month when Univision alleged that he made a racist remark about US First Lady Michelle Obama.

In earlier reports, according to Variety, it was said that Figueroa was fired for saying that the first lady "looks like part of the cast of 'Planet of the Apes' the movie," when in fact, he directed his remarks to the makeup artist Paolo Ballesteros, who was featured posing as the First Lady in a March 11 segment of "El Gordo y La Flaca".

Figueroa insisted that when he made his comment, it was directed at the makeup artist, not at the First Lady, and that he is not racist. Variety also noted that Figueroa wrote to the First Lady himself, explaining that his remark was "not directed at you, but at the result of an artist's depiction of you that I found wasn't accurate. The entire video clip corroborates this."

Venture Capital Post said that Univision thought the unflattering remarks was "completely reprehensible" and gave the host the boot on Wednesday, March 11.

However, according to TMZ, Figueroa's lawyer said that the host was illegally fired and painted as racist as a cover up for an even bigger issue within the company - Figueroa was actually fighting to get Latino talents unionized.

In a letter to Univision, Figueroa's lawyer, Marty Singer said that the network made up the phony excuse, claiming that it fired the host after receiving a complaint from the First Lady's Office, which turned out to be a lie, as there was never a call coming from the White House.

Painting the host as racist and firing him, is a convenient way to destroy his career. Singer then demanded that Univision then apologize publicly and rehire Figureroa, also adding in the letter, "Make no mistake, despite Univision's best efforts, Latino talent will not be forced to 'sit in the back of the bus' any longer."

Figueroa was not the only one who got a backlash for insensitive remarks. According to VC Post, former Disney talent Raven Symone also got a lot of comments when she defended the host by saying that she did not think he was being racist.

Symone said, "Was he saying it racist-like? Because, he said that he voted for her later and I don't think he was saying it racist." She also added, "Not Michelle Obama. Michelle, don't fire me from this right now, but some people do look like animals. I look like a bird... so can I be mad at somebody that calls me Toucan Sam?"

Do you think people like Figueroa and Symone deserved the backlash and reactions they received following their comments, or is racism still an issue that needs to be addressed?