It’s safe to assume that one celebrity has already cursed comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s family and is watching “as misfortune follows his bloodline for the next seven generations.”
“I just wanted to very quickly respond to the racist joke that was made at that Trump rally about Puerto Rico, where most of my family is from,” Plaza said on stage at the WSJ Magazine Innovator Awards in New York. “Thankfully, my sweet abuelita wasn’t here to hear that disgusting remark.” Plaza went on to say that if her grandmother was alive today, she imagines that Abuelita would tell the comedian five epic words: “‘Tony Hinchcliffe, go fuck yourself.’”
Fully aware that this remark would likely make headlines — and was made at a Wall Street Journal event — Plaza added:
“And yes, the Wall Street Journal can quote me on that.”
Noam Galai via Getty Images
When a clip of Plaza’s remarks made its way onto X, formerly Twitter, Tuesday night, one user pointed out that in 2020, the “Parks and Recreation” alum also made a joke about Puerto Rico during her opening monologue at the 35th Film Independent Spirit Awards “that wasn’t punching down.”
In the monologue, Plaza points out fellow Puerto Rican Jennifer Lopez, who was sitting in the audience and said:
“You know, Jennifer Lopez and I are both super hot Puerto Ricans. I mention that because Puerto Rico is kind of like an independent film, you know? It’s beautiful, not enough people have seen it and its financing is always falling through.”
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Plaza is by no means the only noteworthy Puerto Rican who was disgusted by Hinchcliffe’s racist and lazy joke — and Trump’s hateful rhetoric. Lopez, Ricky Martin, Bad Bunny and Sunny Hostin made their endorsements of Vice President Kamala Harris public soon after Trump’s MSG rally.
El Nuevo Día, the largest newspaper in Puerto Rico, also urged its roughly 5 million Puerto Ricans living in the mainland U.S. to vote for Harris Tuesday.
But perhaps Roberto O. González Nieves — the archbishop of San Juan, Puerto Rico — called out the joke best in a Facebook post published Monday.
“I enjoy a good joke. However, humor has its limits. It should not insult or denigrate the dignity and sacredness of people. Hinchcliffe’s remarks do not only provoke sinister laughter but hatred,” González Nieves wrote.
“It is not sufficient for your campaign to apologize,” the archbishop added directly to Trump. “It is important that you, personally, apologize for these comments.”