Delta Air Lines, The Financial Times and Bain & Co have pulled out of an event in New York honoring Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, the firms said on Thursday, as the South American leader faces blowback for racist and homophobic comments.

Bolsonaro is due to be honored as the 2019 Person of the Year at the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce dinner.

The gala, which already had to move from its original venue at New York's American Museum of Natural History after the museum decided not to host, is sponsored by various blue-chip firms, which have come under pressure to ditch their support of the event.

Delta said it would no longer be sponsoring the event, but declined to give further details, as did The Financial Times.

"We have decided to withdraw our sponsorship of the ... 2019 Person of the Year Awards Gala Dinner," Bain said. "Encouraging and celebrating diversity is a core Bain principle." Read more via Reuters