UTA Silent as Uproar Over Tony Hinchcliffe’s Trump Rally Jokes Continues, Joaquin Castro ‘Concerned’ by Agency’s Inaction | Exclusive
Tony Hinchcliffe’s racist jokes about Puerto Ricans and Latinos at a weekend Trump rally drew the ire of many this week, but UTA —the agency that represents the comedian — remains silent. Many would expect an agency to drop its client over such overtly racist remarks, and Texas congressman Joaquin Castro told TheWrap he’s “surprised” and “concerned” by the agency’s inaction.
“It’s remarkable that they haven’t made a comment. I mean, they’re making money off the guy every time he performs, so for them to stay silent is remarkable,” Castro told TheWrap. “I do think that if it was somebody else, they would have been canned by now.”
UTA did not respond to The Wrap’s numerous requests for comment on Hinchcliffe, who is represented by UTA agent and partner Nick Nuciforo who is also the Head of Comedy Touring at the agency. Hinchcliffe’s publicist did not return TheWrap’s request for further comment.
The comedian’s remarks spurred Puerto Rican superstars like Bad Bunny to speak out on social media in support of Kamala Harris, and even Donald Trump’s campaign distanced itself from Hinchcliffe after the uproar.
Castro, who advocates for Latino representation in Hollywood, noted that he’s “had some good meetings” with UTA, but is “surprised they would want to be associated with this kind of vulgar, racist act.”
Hinchcliffe was one of the nearly 30 speakers who took the stage at Donald Trump’s New York City campaign rally on Sunday, which was held at Madison Square Garden.
Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico “literally a floating island of garbage” while speaking ahead of Trump at the rally. Elsewhere in his speech, Hinchcliffe said, “And these Latinos, they love making babies too. Just know that. They do. They do. There’s no pulling out. They don’t do that. They come inside. Just like they did to our country.”
This isn’t the first time Hinchcliffe has received blowback over racially insulting jokes. In May 2021, he was dropped by WME after opening a comedy set with anti-Asian racial slurs against the comedian who was onstage before him.
“I was also surprised to learn that UTA picked him up after WME had dropped him for these kinds of remarks in 2021,” Castro said.
“My concern is that you got a lot of people at UTA who just don’t think this is a big deal, because it just doesn’t affect them, or because there aren’t other Latinos over there to tell them this is messed up,” the congressman added.
Hinchcliffe is a frequent guest on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, where Trump did a three-hour appearance on Friday night. He’s also the host of his own popular “Kill Tony” podcast.
His comments have been condemned not only by Latino celebrities including Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny, John Leguizamo, Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony and Sunny Hostin of “The View,” but by members of the GOP.
“This rhetoric does not reflect GOP values,” Florida congresswoman María Elvira Salazar wrote on X.
Sen. Rick Scott, another Republican from Florida, tweeted, “This joke bombed for a reason. It’s not funny and it’s not true. Puerto Ricans are amazing people and amazing Americans! I’ve been to the island many times. It’s a beautiful place. Everyone should visit!”
Scott is notably fighting to preserve his Senate seat, with recent polling showing him holding on to a narrow lead in a state with a large Puerto Rican population and an even larger number of Latinos.
The presidential race is in its final days and the Harris campaign has seized the opportunity to appeal to Puerto Rican and Latino voters with targeted messaging, while the Trump campaign suffers fallout from the rally.
During an hourlong press event on Tuesday, Trump did not address Hinchcliffe’s jokes or Puerto Ricans.
