Nick Cannon Defends DaBaby

DaBaby's Apology for Homophobic Comments Has Been Removed From His Instagram Account

During DaBaby's July 25 set at Rolling Loud in Miami, he told the crowd, "If you didn't show up today with HIV, AIDS, or any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases that'll make you die in two to three weeks, then put your cellphone lighter up. Ladies, if your p---y smell like water, put your cellphone lighter up. Fellas, if you ain’t sucking di-- in the parking lot, put your cellphone lighter up." The 25-year-old rapper later issued a formal apology last Monday -- which has since been removed from his Instagram account -- "to the LGBTQ+ community for the hurtful and triggering comments I made" while emphasizing his need for education.

Cannon was in DaBaby's shoes last summer after his anti-Semitic remarks during his Cannon's Class podcast, which caused ViacomCBS to terminate its relationship with the Wild 'n Out host. He later apologized to the Jewish community for his comments and announced he was taking a break from his radio show to allow for more "reflection and education," and spoke with Rabbi Noam Marans of the American Jewish Committee for an hourlong educational Zoom conference, which was held a year ago on Aug. 10, 2020. In February of this year, Viacom CBS resumed its working relationship with Cannon following his apology and subsequent work educating himself and working with Jewish groups.

"He a fighter. We've seen his back against the wall. He's swinging, he's swinging just so he could get out of.... We all have to accept emotion," Cannon continued. "To say 'I'm sorry,' that's a self-proclamation. To apologize is an action. And to actually repent or atone is actually the next level because now you're trying to understand, there's education involved with that, there's actually community involved with that. And that's the other thing too, where I challenge all these people who actually want to cancel somebody, and even specifically in DaBaby's situation, let's use this as an opportunity for education. Because that's what happened in my scenario."