Who is Nicky Jam? Musician withdraws Donald Trump endorsement over Puerto Rico 'joke'

Reggaeton singer Nicky Jam has withdrawn his support for Former President Donald Trump in the upcoming US election after a racist comment made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe about Puerto Rico at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally.

Just over a month ago, Nicky - real name Nick Rivera Caminero - joined Trump on stage and sported a MAGA hat at a campaign rally at The Expo at World Market Center Las Vegas.

It wasn't without an awkward moment though, as Trump introduced Nicky by saying, “She’s hot" appearing not to know who he is, as the Harris campaign trolled the moment with a post in response that read: “Nicky Jam is a man.”

In response to his endorsement, Mexican rock band Maná removed their collaboration with Nicky Jam, "Pies a Cabeza" from streaming service, as the band wrote on their Instagram: "Maná doesn’t work with racists."

Why has Nicky Jam withdrawn his Donald Trump endorsement?

Nicky has changed his tune following all the outcry sparked by comedian Hinchcliffe's comments when he described the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico as “floating garbage”.

In a recent Instagram post, the 43-year-old explained in Spanish why he initially supported Trump but why he no longer will.

“The reason I supported Donald Trump was because I thought he was the best for the economy in the United States where a lot of Latinos live, a lot of immigrants who are suffering because of the economy," he said, as per CNN.

“With [Trump] being a businessman, I felt it was the right move.”

“Never in my life did I think, that one month later there would be a comedian who would criticize my country and speak poorly of my country. And for that I withdraw my support of Donald Trump. Puerto Rico should be respected.”

Who is Nicky Jam?

Nicky Jam is a Latin artist who makes reggaeton music with his biggest hits including 'X', 'Travesuras', 'El Perdón', 'Hasta el Amanecer', and 'El Amante' and has released six studio albums, his most recent one being Insomnio released in September.

On Spotify, has 27.9M monthly listeners with his most popular song on the music streaming service being his 2018 song 'X' with 1,050,903,210 listens at the time of writing.

He was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts to a Dominican mother and a Puerto Rican father but his family abruptly moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico when he was 10 years old as his father caught a drug case and skipped bail - "You could say he raised us as a fugitive," Nicky said in a 2017 Billboard interview.

The musician has won 15 Billboard Latin Music Awards out of the 38 he's been nominated for over the years.

In 2018, a Netflix documentary series titled Nicky Jam: El Ganador was released about the singer's "struggles to overcome drug addiction and rise to international success".

The father of four married Angélica Cruz in 2017 but the couple divorced in 2018, then in 2020 he was engaged to model Cydney Moreau but in 2021 he confirmed they split.

Nicky has also had acting roles, playing Lazarus in 2017's XXX: Return of Xander Cage, himself in 2017's The Keys of Christmas and 2018's Nicky Jam: El Ganador. Then in 2020, he played Lorenzo "Zway-Lo" Rodriguez in Bad Boys for Life, and voiced the Butch Cat in 2021's Tom & Jerry film.

Puerto Rican stars and Trump also react to Hincliffe's "joke"

Comedian Hinchcliffe sparked outrage over the weekend when he referred to the Caribbean island as “floating garbage” at Trump’s Madison Square Garden event.

“There’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now,” Hinchcliffe said. “I think it’s called Puerto Rico."

Meanwhile, other Puerto Rican celebrities such as Bad Bunny, Ricky Martin, Luis Fonsi and Jennifer Lopez have all come out to support Kamala Harris.

Following the fallout from the New York rally, the Trump campaign has insisted that Hinchcliffe's joke "does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.”

Meanwhile, Trump himself has tried to distance himself from the comedian's remarks and even claimed her has "no idea" who Hinchcliffe is and says he didn't hear the Puerto Rico comment.

“I don’t know him, someone put him up there. I don’t know who he is,” Trump told ABC’s Rachel Scott.

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