Why Is Disney Channel's New Show 'Primos' Coming Under Fire? The 'Oye Primos' Racism Controversy Explained

Disney Channel is the go-to television network for many children around the world. After hosting animated classics like Kim Possible, Gravity Falls and Phineas and Ferb, Disney's latest endeavor, Primos, is an attempt to connect with its Latin American audience.

But the reveal of the theme song for "Primos," which translates to the word "Cousins," has left its creators floundering in hot water amidst accusations of racial insensitivity and stereotyping. Here's all you need to know about the criticism Disney's Primos is facing.

What Is The Upcoming Disney Channel Show Primos About?

Primos is a Disney channel show created and produced by Natasha Kline. The show was greenlit in 2021, and was described as being based on "Kline’s childhood experiences with her extended multicultural Mexican American family."

The show follows the story of "Tater, an eccentric 10-year-old girl," who finds herself stuck with the cousins in her extended family after they move into her home for a summer. Disney dropped the theme song for the show in 2023, which carries the grammatically incorrect refrain, "Oye Primos!"

Why Did The Theme Song For Primos Upset Some People?

The first issue many people seemed to have with the theme song for Primos was the grammatical inaccuracy of saying "Oye Primos," where "oye" is a singular term, while "primos" is plural. Other issues people had with the trailer were the names of the various cousins, which ranged from Nacho and Nachito to Gordita (which just means "fatty").

One young character was even given the unfortunate name Cuquita, which refers to an intimate female body part in some countries and "cockroach" in others.

OK gringos, in case you don't know whats wrong:-"Oye primos" is phrased incorrectly-Cuquita is vulva in spanish-The music ain't mexican-Full houses don't exist anymore-The city name is like naming a USA town "9/11 Hills"-The names 💀-Why does it look like Breaking Bad https://t.co/8Ad30SB3Gp

— Atheist Bunny (@leeleenari) June 15, 2023

Other issues taken up by critics of the show include naming the town "Terremoto," which means "earthquake," which is considered insensitive by some due to countries like Mexico and Chile's histories with devastating earthquakes. Many vocal critics of the show did happen to be Latin American natives who found a diasporic American citizen's portrayal of their culture as inaccurate and insulting.

How Did The Creator Of Primos Respond To Their Critics?

Natasha Kline is the creator of Primos and a person of Mexican heritage. She rebuffed criticism of her show by explaining that the characters and concepts portrayed in the show were meant to convey her personal experience of growing up in Los Angeles.

She posted a webcomic that commented on the supposed use of the Mexico filter and showed the hate she and her crew received for the show. In a separate interview, Kline said that she intended for "Oye Primos" to be grammatically incorrect because it was in line with the character Tater's disconnect from the language.

How Did The Voice Actor For Tater Respond To The Criticism?

Myrna Velasco, the voice actor for Tater, posted an Instagram story where she responded to the allegations of unintentional grammatical errors in the show. She began by saying that Spanish isn't a language native to South America and that they were just trying to make a show that's good for kids.

Y’all, Tater’s voice actor responded to the show’s criticism#primos #DisneyChannel pic.twitter.com/wA4a2WfguJ

— Juan Aguilar (@JuanAgu21791447) June 14, 2023

"The Spanish language is not a Latin-American language. It's a language the Spanish conquistadors forced upon Latin-American people. The only reason we're Latin people and not Native American people is because of that distinction. So be mad at me all you want for misspelling words in Spanish, be mad at me all you want for mispronouncing words in Spanish, that doesn't take away from the fact that I am a Mexican-American, Native-American woman. We're trying to make a good show for kids. For kids that feel left out, for kids that are different, for kids who don't have a full grasp on any language no matter where they live. And if you're gonna be mad at that, I don't know, be mad then."

What Are Some Memes People Are Sharing About The Show?

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For the full history of Disney's 'Primos' racism controversy, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.