NBC draws distance from Donald Trump over Mexican 'rapists' comment

NBCUniversalappears to bebacking away from comments made bylongtime business partnerDonald Trump.

The American media company issued a cautious statement drawing distancefrom the Republican presidential candidate after heaccused Latino immigrants of bringing drugs, crime and rapists to the U.S.

• Univisiondrops Miss USA pageant over Donald Trump's 'insulting remarks' about Latino immigrants

The comments were delivered in a campaign kick-off speech in which Trump also called for the building of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

"Donald Trump's opinions do not represent those of NBC," the network said in a statement Thursday andpublished in The Hollywood Reporter."[A]nd we do not agree with his positions on a number of issues, including his recent comments on immigration."

NBC's message came hours after Spanish-language media networkUnivisionsaid it wascutting all business ties with the real estate tycoonover his commentsincluding refusing to airTrump'sMiss USA pageant.

Trump accusedUnivisionof defaulting on a five-year contract, and called for a boycott of the networkon Twitter.

Despite Univision'sdecision, it's unlikely that NBC would go so far as to stop broadcasting the pageant, scheduled to air live fromBaton Rouge, La., on July 12.

Trump and NBCUniversal have shared ownership of the Miss USA, Miss Universe and Miss Teen USA pageants since 2003.The two sides are currently operating on a reported five-year, $13.5 million US contract.

After Trump announced plans to run for U.S. president in 2016, the network indicated that it would re-evaluatehis role as host of the reality seriesCelebrity Apprentice, which Trump also produces.