Business mogul Daymond John is under fire after praising a speech given by Minister Louis Farrakhan this past weekend at rapper DMX’s funeral.
“What a powerful speech from Minister Louis Farrakhan for the #dmxfuneral,” the “Shark Tank” star wrote in a now-deleted Twitter post. “His deep understanding of the Bible and respect for other people’s religions was truly inspiring. #RIPDMX.”
John garnered backlash almost instantly after many people brought up the Nation of Islam leader’s past. Over the decades, Farrakhan has repeatedly been accused of making what some perceive to be anti-Semitic statements, such as calling Jewish people “termites.”
John apologized for his post shortly after in a lengthy statement, writing, “In regards to my tweet regarding DMXs funeral, my comments on Minister Farrakhan were only related to what I just witnessed tonight, unbeknownst to his prior stances.” He added, “As someone who was fortunate enough to have a step dad of the Jewish faith, I do not condone and never would condone any anti Semitic, prejudice or any remarks of hatred. The prior tweet will be removed to avoid further pain and confusion to anyone who has felt hurt in the past by any negative comments of his.”
Actor Nick Cannon faced a similar situation last summer after making what some believed were anti-Semitic remarks on his podcast “Cannon’s Class” during an interview with former Public Enemy member Richard “Professor Griff” Griffin. The 40-year-old Cannon was fired by ViacomCBS from his show “Wild ‘N Out” and apologized for his statements, even appearing on the American Jewish Committee’s online program “AJC Advocacy Anywhere” with AJC’s Director of Interreligious and Intergroup Relations Rabbi Noam Marans to discuss his identity and the relationship between Black and Jewish cultures.
However, during the conversation with Marans, when asked to denounce Farrakhan, whom Cannon had referenced during his podcast, he refused.
Seemingly speaking cautiously, Cannon prefaced his reply with a Hebrew phrase which translates to “If I’m not for myself, then who will be for me?” He continued, “I preface with that because, in the Black community, we often feel we have no one that is for us, and the people who do step for us are instantly condemned.”
The “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” star then claimed to Marans that several Black leaders have been called anti-Semitic, including “Muhammad Ali, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, James Baldwin, the list goes on. … Martin Luther King, at one point, was called the most dangerous human being by America or in the nation and was deemed a terrorist. So when you see someone like Minister Farrakhan, to our community, he has been a leader.”
Marans responded to Cannon’s statements saying that while he appreciated his honesty, his response, however, remained “not fully satisfactory.”
