univision host rodner figueroa who was fired after making a racially insensitive remark about michelle obama now claims that the first lady's office may have played a deciding role in his dismissal according to figueroa's representatives, no one from the network complained when on wednesday he compared a makeup artist who transformed himself into michelle obama to a cast member of the planet of the apes franchise but later that night, hours after figueroa's entertainment news show el gordo y la flacaa aired, a univision executive reportedly contacted the tv presenter and informed him that the first lady's office had made a complaint about the remark scroll down for video  bold claim: rodner figueroa (left) claims first lady michelle obama's (right) office got him fired from univision after he compared her to a character from planet of the apes on live television  the revelation implicating the first lady’s team in the firing, first reported by tmz, comes after a seemingly contrite figueroa penned an open letter to mrs obama apologizing for his outburst in the missive, the sacked tv host wrote that as a bi racial, openly gay man, he is no stranger to discrimination and has long been fighting for minorities he also stated: 'i voted openly twice for your husband, barack obama' mrs obama has not publicly addressed figueroa’s claim that her staff got the univision host fired for mocking her venezuelan born figueroa, an emmy award winning host at the spanish language network univision, made the planet of the apes remark in a segment discussing the work of make up artist paolo ballesteros who posts photos of himself transformed into female celebrities rodner figueroa, left, made the racially insensitive remark on the entertainment news show el gordo y la flaca on wednesday  figueroa, 42, was talking about how ballesteros had transformed himself into the first lady when said: 'well, watch out, you know that michelle obama looks like she's from the cast of planet of the apes, the movie' when hostess lili estefan countered with 'what are you saying?' and host raul de molina said obama was very attractive, figueroa defended his remark, saying 'but it is true' the show aired live on the east coast, but his remarks were edited out of the version broadcast for the west coast, reports latino voices later figueroa co hosted the evening gossip show sal y pimienta, but by wednesday night his photo had already been removed from the network's website in a statement on thursday, univision called figueroa's comments 'completely reprehensible' and said they 'in no way reflect the values or opinions of univision' 'yesterday during the entertainment show el gordo y la flaca, rodner figueroa made comments about first lady michelle obama that were completely reprehensible and in no way reflect the values or opinions of univision 'as a result, mr figueroa was fired immediately,' read the statement venezuelan born figueroa made the remark in a segment discussing the work of make up artist paolo ballesteros who posts photos of himself transformed into female celebrities such as the first lady  on thursday he issued an open letter apology to michelle obama in it he claimed his comments were taken out of context and that as a member of a 'bi racial latin family' he isn't a racist, reports latin times 'i can't accept that i am being called a racist and being fired for that reason and being humiliated by univision after working there for 17 years,' he said 'i come from a bi racial latin family, with family members, like my father, who is afro latino i am the first presenter on hispanic tv that is openly gay and i am an activist for causes that favor minorities, that have been discriminated against just like me' figueroa had won the award for outstanding daytime talent in the spanish category at the daytime emmy awards last june univision is the largest spanish language network in the united states, reaching an estimated 94 million us homes it ranks fifth among all television networks in the us figueroa, who won the outstanding daytime talent in spanish category at the daytime emmy awards last june, issued an apology on thursday  dear first lady michelle obama,  i offer my sincerest apologies for a comment that i made about the characterization from a make up artist that i made about you in the univision entertainment program el gordo y la flaca i want to make it clear that i'm not racist and it was directed personally to you, but to the characterization of the artist, that left a lot to be desired the clip in full context is proof i feel embarrased, i ask for forgiveness, because there is no excuse for a professional like me to make those types of comments that can be interpreted as offensive and racist in a volatile moment that we live in our country i take responsibility for this lack of judgement in my part, but i can't accept that i am being called a racist and being fired for that reason and being humiliated by univision after working there for 17 years i come from a bi racial latin family, with family members, like my father, who is afro latino i am the first presenter on hispanic tv that is openly gay and i am an activist for causes that favor minorities, that have been discriminated against just like me i openly voted twice for your husband barack obama, because i consider him a great man that respects minorities, like me, in this country i worked on two univision shows where i commented about celebrity style, including the real family and latin first ladies and i have never offended anybody because of their skin color, sexual orientation or nationality i am a decent person, but a human in the end that makes mistakes like this one although the comment was unpleasant and out of line i do not deserved being called a racist and i have to defend myself for respect and love to my family, my father, my fans and my community i was notified verbally that due to a complaint from your office i was fired an information leak from univision executives, i was condemend in social media, trying to destroy my career in an unfair manner, without letting me know personally and without an investigation that would allow to clear up the situation again, i offer my humble forgiveness for the misinterpreation and i assume the responsibility yours respectfully,  rodner figueroa 
rodner figueroa el gordo y la flaca michelle obama figueroa afro latino univision the daytime emmy awards the outstanding daytime talent spanish
rodner figueroa made the racially insensitive remark on the entertainment news show el gordo y la flaca on wednesday . he was discussing the work of a make up artist who had transformed himself into michelle obama . by late wednesday evening the network had removed his photo from their website and on thursday they confirmed that he had been fired . figueroa has issued an apology in which he denies being a racist and states that his father is afro latino . also accused univision of trying to destroy his career 'in an unfair manner'. at the daytime emmy awards last june figueroa had won the outstanding daytime talent in the spanish category 