Nick Cannon issued an official apology on Wednesday, July 15 to the Jewish community after he made what many considered anti-Semitic remarks during an episode of his “Cannon’s Class” podcast. As a result, the television host and producer was ultimately fired by ViacomCBS, the media company that owns various networks that Cannon has appeared on throughout his career.
In his apology, published on Twitter, the 39-year-old Cannon admitted that he was “ashamed” of the comments he made with former Public Enemy member Richard Griffin, widely known as Professor Griff.
During the now-deleted podcast, Cannon and Griffin discussed various conspiracy theories, including one that suggested that Jewish people controlled several significant media companies and referred to white people as “savages” and “animals.”
“First and foremost I extend my deepest and most sincere apologies to my Jewish sisters and brothers for the hurtful and divisive words that came out of my mouth during my interview with Richard Griffin,” Cannon tweeted. He continued, “They reinforced the worst stereotypes of a proud and magnificent people and I feel ashamed of the uninformed and naïve place that these words came from. The video of this interview has since been removed.”
Members of the Jewish community, however, were seemingly open to Cannon’s apology, including Rabbie Yoni Dahlen, who tweeted “As a rabbi and someone who has chosen a career of upholding dignity and love for all people, this apology means a lot.” He added, “Thank you, and to all the hatred being spewed in the comments below—it just shows that we have a long way to go in treating each other right.”
Following the incident, ViacomCBS, the parent company of MTV and VH1, where Cannon hosted several shows, including the “Wild ‘N Out” comedy series, issued a statement announcing that it had cut ties with the producer. In the report, the media conglomerate said, “ViacomCBS condemns bigotry of any kind, and we categorically denounce all forms of anti-Semitism.”
The “Drumline” actor later released a second statement, this time, demanding full ownership of “Wild ‘N Out,” attributing its success largely to his efforts.
Cannon garnered a wide range of support from fans and peers, including REVOLT TV founder Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, who invited Cannon to his “truly Black-owned” platform.
Cannon is also the host of the singing competition series “The Masked Singer” on FOX, which revealed in a statement to TODAY that it plans on keeping Cannon on board. “Nick has sincerely apologized, and quickly taken steps to educate himself and make amends,” the statement read. “On that basis and given a belief that this moment calls for dialogue, we will move forward with Nick and help him advance this important conversation, broadly.”
Cannon’s apology to the Jewish community, however, has gained a more different reaction from his peers, including radio and television personality Charlamagne Tha God who instead doubled down on comments previously made by Cannon. During an episode of his morning radio show “The Breakfast Club,” Charlamagne further pushed claims that Jewish people rule the entertainment industry. “Listen, Nick is my guy. I hate it had to be him, but that’s what you can do when you have the power,” the radio host began. He added, “And if there’s one thing Jewish people have showed us, it’s they have the power. I can’t wait until the day black people are able to fire people for saying things about us that we deem racist. We can barely get cops fired for actually killing us!”
Cannon’s other endeavors include hosting a morning radio show on L.A.’s KPWR Power 106 station. While the company hasn’t released a public statement, the actor announced via Twitter that he would be stepping away as a result of the incident.
