More Trump fallout: Miss USA co-host Jeannie Mai steps down

A co-host of the Miss USA pageant, Jeannie Mai, has decided to drop out because of controversial comments made by pageant co-owner and 2016 presidential candidate Donald Trump.

On Monday night, the five-time co-host announced on Instagram, “I am respectfully withdrawing from my responsibilities and commitment as co-host of Miss USA.” Mai also stated, “I feel terrible that the women competing this year have fallen victim to current events.”

To my friends & fans: Last week I announced my heart-felt decision to support the women of Miss USA by remaining on board as a co-host.  My focus was strictly on the women involved, who share the same ethics of hard work, commitment and passion for their careers and causes that I do. I have co-hosted for the last five years various Miss Universe events, and I’m grateful for the many women I’ve met and friends I’ve made along the way. I feel terrible that the women competing this year have fallen victim to current events. Let me be clear, I condemn the recent words of Mr. Trump, and find them immensely offensive. At the time I made my decision to remain part of the Miss USA pageant, I was under the impression that Mr. Trump would no longer be involved in the production of the show in any capacity what so ever. In addition, given Mr. Trump's ongoing antics, including his most recent episode today with the current Miss Universe, it is clear that Mr. Trump’s actions have and will continue to distract focus away from the real stars of the show – the women involved in the pageant. Therefore, I am respectfully withdrawing from my responsibilities and commitment as co-host of Miss USA.  From the beginning, I announced publicly that I was donating my compensation to a worthy charity. Although I will no longer be participating as a co-host, I still want to support the women competing in the pageant.  I feel the best way to show that is to lend my support to this year's winner of Miss USA and to make the donation I promised to her platform and charity. Ladies, you worked so hard to get here. I am proud of who you are and wish you the best of luck Sunday evening.

A photo posted by @thejeanniemai on Jul 6, 2015 at 5:54pm PDT

This marks the latest withdrawal from a pageant participant after Panama pulled out just days ago.

A week prior, Mai, the co-host of daytime talk show The Real, had said she would remain part of the Miss USA pageant.

Mai said, “I hope everyone can transcend this controversy so we don’t lose sight of that. As long as there is one woman standing there on that stage, I intend to be standing there beside her.”

Mai claims her change of heart followed a revelation that the conversation surrounding the pageant had clearly shifted, and along with it, the focus.

“Given Mr. Trump’s ongoing antics, including his most recent episode today with the current Miss Universe, it is clear that Mr. Trump’s actions have and will continue to distract focus away from the real stars of the show – the women involved in the pageant,” she wrote.

These “ongoing antics” include a tweet by Trump that came out over the weekend regarding the current Miss Universe.

Miss Universe, Paulina Vega, criticized me for telling the truth about illegal immigration, but then said she would keep the crown-Hypocrite

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— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 5, 2015

Trump has been under fire for comments made during his presidential announcement speech.

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best,” he said. “They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”

RELATED: Trump doubles down on anti-immigrant rhetoric

Following the speech, Univision, NBCUniversal and Macy’s decided to cut business ties with Trump. Univision and NBCUniversal announced that they will not air the Miss USA pageants. NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC, NBC News and Telemundo were part of a joint venture with Trump. Macy’s also followed suit and said it will discontinue its relationship with Trump and discontinue his men’s clothing line at the store.

Trump fired back by stating, “Clearly, NBC and Macy’s support illegal immigration, which is totally detrimental to the fabric of our once great country.”

Trump also made a remark on the recent shooting death of a California 32-year-old woman by a Mexican national who had been deported back to Mexico several times. Trump said it is an example of “merely one of thousands of similar incidents throughout the United States,” adding that “infectious disease is pouring across the border.”